COVINGTON, Ky. — The city of Covington recently received a perfect score for building an LGBTQ+ inclusive environment for the third year in a row. The recognition comes from the country’s largest LGBTQ+ advocacy group, the Human Rights Campaign.
Bonnie Meyer, president and co-Founder of the NKY Pride Center, praised the city’s efforts and stressed the importance of people feeling safe in their communities.
“It is important that, that we do the work locally to ensure that our communities are places where every person can live, can thrive, can be happy, can have community, and can feel safe,” she said.
The NKY Pride Center works closely with the city and provides various resources, including free HIV testing kits, meeting space, and making sure people feel celebrated, including at the annual Pride Parade.
The 2024 Municipal Equality Index, now in its twelfth year, scored 506 cities nationwide on how they support LGBTQ+ community through policies, programs and services. Covington was among 130 cities to earn a perfect score, which mayor of Covington, Joe Meyer said reflects their commitment.
”We want everybody who comes to Covington to be safe and to feel like they can be themselves. So through the policies that we’ve enacted and the programs that we’ve supported over the time, we’ve really made this case.”
Meyers agreed and said, “Despite everything that is happening around us, that their commitment to the LGBTQ plus community, is, is clear, is articulated, and is, is consistent. So, we’re happy to celebrate that,” she said.
This marks the third consecutive year Covington has achieved a perfect score.
Lexington and Louisville also received perfect scores from the Human Rights campaign .
The NKY Pride Center has been closed because of various reasons. Meyer shared they will soon announce upcoming events.