10 years after the Supreme Court decision, Jim Obergefell speaks about LGBTQ+ rights
Jim Obergefell, lead plaintiff in the Supreme Court case that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide, looks back on the impact 10 years later.
Where’s the best place to be gay in America? It’s becoming more and more of a zip code issue.
While Massachusetts and California are known for promoting supportive policies and rolling out welcome mats for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer residents, other states experiencing a wave of LGBTQ+ resurgence, such as Arkansas and Tennessee, have less kind reputations.
Today, that gap is wider than ever, according to Out Leadership’s latest state LGBTQ+ business climate index shared exclusively with USA TODAY.
The index suggests that acceptance of gay people in America continues to decline significantly, reversing much of the civil rights movement that improved the well-being and safety of the LGBTQ+ population, Todd Sears, founder and CEO of Out Leadership, told USA TODAY.
The national average score on the index has declined for the fourth consecutive year. According to Sears, while the top 10 states have stabilized or improved, the lowest-ranked states have fallen even more sharply, and the middle-ranked states are rapidly disappearing.
On the index’s 100-point scale, a typical condition is now The score was just 53.1, with 26 states scoring below 60.
“When we started this index eight years ago, our goal was to show Americans the invisible issues that still exist, like the criminalization of HIV, conversion therapy, and the actual positions of state legislators,” Sears said. “Because once marriage equality was passed, many people thought the effort was over. That’s not really the case.” “What we’ve documented since then is real regression.”
Gay and transgender equality has declined significantly in four years
Every year for the past eight years, Out Leadership has published an index showing where 9% of U.S. adults who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or something other than straight are least and least welcome. Created as an inclusion reference guide for business leaders, LGBTQ+ people quickly turned to it to determine where they should and should not live and work.
Over the years, the index has measured factors such as the impact of state government policies and public attitudes, from support for youth and families to health access and safety and non-discrimination protection.
Sears said Out Leadership added 12 new metrics this year to measure the impact of anti-LGBTQ+ policies, including restricting access to restrooms, prohibiting the use of pronouns or names, and restricting adult gender-affirming care.
Out Leadership decided to add it after the Supreme Court struck down the state’s ban on conversion therapy.
“For the past several years, we have not captured the forces that are already attacking LGBTQ+ citizens and their families,” Sears said.
As a result, the national average score decreased by 5 points to 60.63 out of 100. The index also points to greater geographic polarization.
The gap between the most welcoming state, Massachusetts, with a score of 93.85 and the least welcoming state, Arkansas, with a score of 28.06, widened to 66 points from 55 in 2019.
“What Americans have taken for granted, that LGBTQ+ people exist and deserve civil rights, has once again been thrown into question,” Sears said.
State rankings from California to Arkansas
New standards for out-leadership have given some states a boost. California moved up in the rankings for its leadership in LGBTQ+-friendly policies, and Illinois improved on things like providing protections for access to gender-affirming care.
Taking these additional factors into account lowered the rankings of some states. Florida has been hit with bathroom bans, medical restrictions and other state measures, and Texas has suffered setbacks due to anti-trans laws.
Even LGBTQ+-friendly states fell in the rankings.
Maine, for example, declined not because it passed an unfriendly law, but because the new metric rewards states that enact protections that it doesn’t. South Dakota, on the other hand, gained five positions because it hasn’t adopted as many anti-LGBTQ+ bills as other states.
In short, half of America is becoming increasingly unfriendly toward the LGBTQ+ population, Sears said. “The math shows it,” he said.
Rising anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment
From Pride parades to the federal legalization of same-sex marriage, America’s acceptance of homosexuality has been steadily increasing for decades.
A 2022 study by Tessa Charlesworth, an assistant professor of management and organizations at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, and Harvard psychologist Mazarin Banaji found that anti-gay prejudice decreased from 2007 to 2020, and tended to disappear entirely.
The trend then reversed in the early 2020s. Anti-gay prejudice increased by 10 points from 2021 to 2024.
Acceptance of LGBTQ people hit an all-time high four years ago, but has declined every year since, as measured by Gallup, as public approval of LGBTQ+ legal protections recedes and transgender rights become a flashpoint in the culture wars.
The political shift has rippled through the broadly supportive corporate world, which, despite its track record of supporting the nation’s LGBTQ+ population, has slashed Pride Month budgets, reduced the flashing of rainbow flags and downplayed solidarity amid “wake up and go bankrupt” backlash against Target and Bud Light and pressure from activists to reverse their LGBTQ+ commitments.
According to Charlesworth research, bias has increased in the majority of states since 2020.
She found that nearly two-thirds of states have seen an increase in implicit bias (prejudice that people automatically make about others based on their sexual orientation), and three-quarters have seen an increase in explicit bias (conscious attitudes, prejudices, and stereotypes about individuals or groups).
“Geography certainly plays a role in overall prejudice against gay, lesbian and transgender people,” Charlesworth told USA TODAY. “There are systemic patterns in each place that shape where things are more tolerant and accepting, and where they are more hostile.”
Even socially progressive cities in conservative states are no longer safe or welcoming, Sears said. Research shows that many LGBTQ+ residents in red states are considering uprooting their lives or have already fled.
“Companies are going to feel this over the next 12 to 18 months, and many are already feeling it,” he said. “There is a talent exodus underway. LGBTQ people are leaving anti-LGBTQ countries, families of transgender, non-binary, and gay young people are emigrating, and employees are moving back into the closet. No matter what someone is hiding at work, they are not being their full selves, and they are not bringing everything they can to their companies. That’s why the economic impact will be long-lasting.”
Top 5 states for LGBTQ+
1. Massachusetts 93.85
2. New York 93.54
3. Connecticut 91.46
4. Illinois 91.27
5. California 90.11
5 states with the lowest LGBTQ+ rankings
50. Arkansas 06.28
49. Tennessee 30.63
48. South Carolina 31.34
47. Idaho 32.23
46. Florida 33.25
