City of Myrtle Beach ranks top 3 SC city by LGBTQ index

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David Hucks
David Huckshttps://myrtlebeachsc.com
David Hucks is a 12th generation descendant of the area we now call Myrtle Beach, S.C. David attended Coastal Carolina University and like most of his family, has never left the area. David is the lead journalist at MyrtleBeachSC.com

In a release to local media today, the City of Myrtle Beach stated: Myrtle Beach again increased its score on the annual LGBTQ+ community Municipal Equality Index (MEI), a national review of 506 cities by the Human Rights Campaign.  This year’s MEI for the City of Myrtle Beach is 59, up five points from last year.  The index evaluates a city’s laws, policies and inclusiveness through the lens of the LGBTQ+ community.  Myrtle Beach’s 2022 MEI score of 59 is the third-best among South Carolina cities, after Columbia and Charleston, respectively. 

Myrtle Beach scored 59 on the index — just behind Columbia and Charleston who scored 77 and 71, respectively. A 2022 poll released by Gallup found that 7.1% of Americans identify as gay. The increase is due to ​​”high LGBT self-identification, particularly as bisexual, among Generation Z adults,” who are 18 to 25.

While Myrtle Beach now ranks top 3 LGBTQ-friendly cities in the state, local officials agreed there is more work to be done. Regardless, Myrtle Beach is now publicly an east coast city with a west coast mindset.

The Human Rights Campaign, a national advocacy organization, reviewed 506 cities in America for its annual Municipal Equality Index report.

Myrtle Beach Mayor Brenda Bethune is among the most gay friendly mayors in America, leading the charge in these efforts, scoring even higher than most mayors in Southern California.

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Since 2021, Myrtle Beach increased its score by five points. Kelvin Waites, Myrtle Beach’s diversity officer, said this shows how the city is working extremely hard to be more equitable for the LGBTQ community. In 2019, before the mayor’s pro gay agenda policies, the city’s score was just 23.

In 2022, other South Carolina cities, across the state, scored: Greenville (52 points), Mount Pleasant (46), North Charleston (40), Clemson (33) and Rock Hill (17).

We want everyone to not just feel like they have voices, but that their voices are heard,” Waites said. “We work towards that each and every day to make everyone feel like they have value, and we will continue to do so.

The city received points for the mayor’s public position on LGBTQ equality and its support of LGBTQ-inclusive legislation, hiring, and policies. Also, the city was recognized for its services for LGBTQ youth and older adults with city employment and city contractors, per the report.

The city scored record points for appointing an LGBTQ liaison to the Myrtle Beach Police Department and for its local Human Rights Commission, which was created back in 1990.

Adam Hayes is chairman of the City of Myrtle Beach’s Human Rights Commission. Hayes said the commission is drafting an ordinance specific to private business with gay friendly requirements in hiring, which they hope to bring before Myrtle Beach City Council for consideration by next year.

Passing that ordinance would be a “really big win” for the city, he said.

We have people from all walks of life coming here,” Hayes said. “If the city’s not having a good stance on equality, at the end of the day, that is going to tell tourists and people that are planning their vacations, ‘Maybe I want to go somewhere else.’”

Terry Livingston, co-founder of Grand Strand PRIDE, said he has been pleased with the open communication between city officials and the local LGBTQ community, and he hopes to see it continue in the future.

When you’re talking about civil rights and improving the city, when they improve things for the LGBTQ community, they’re improving things for all marginalized citizens in the community,” Livingston said. “We are still a small city competing with big city ideas, but I think we’re doing well.”

This comes as Myrtle Beach stands out within Horry County for its inclusiveness of the gay community. Horry County is one of the state’s strongest conservative bases. Myrtle Beach has been known for decades as a haven for LGBTQ people.

The city hopes to use its influence to mandate the LBTGQ agenda across Horry County.

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