Wives Megan, left, and Lindsey Smith hold one another while Tennessee Equality Project co-Chairman Kat Cooper speaks at a rally in response to a federal court opinion that upheld state bans on gay marriage hosted by the Tennessee Equality Project at the Walnut Street Bridge on Friday.Related stories• Rally on Chattanooga's Walnut Street Bridge supports gay marriage (with video)• Gay marriage ban upheld: Ruling sets the stage for U.S. Supreme Court to decide the issue
Tennessee, and Chattanooga specifically, scored significantly below the national average on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) equality in a report that assesses 353 cities across the nation.
The Human Rights Campaign's third annual report, the Municipal Equality Index (MEI), is the only rating system of LGBT inclusion in municipal law and policy, and the 2014 report looks at five cities in Tennessee.
The average score for Tennessee is 39 out of 100 points, which lags behind the national average of 59.
Chattanooga scored 23 points.
"In many municipalities, local leaders are taking important steps to provide LGBT people with the protections and security not available at the state or federal level," said Rebecca Issacs, executive director of Equality Federation, in a written statement. "Many cities and countries are emerging as welcoming communities where LGBT people are treated with the dignity and respect they've always deserved."
Read more in tomorrow's Times Free Press.
INTERACTIVE TIMELINE:
INTERACTIVE MAP: