The nation’s vast patchwork of LGBT rights is now accessible in an easy-to-use online database that was conceived of in Philadelphia.
LGBTrights.me, spearheaded by PGN editor Sarah Blazucki, allows users to find information on where their state stands on LGBT-rights issues — from nondiscrimination to relationship recognition to anti-bullying protections.
Visitors can input a specific address or use a GPS function to search for the rights that exist in a given location.
Local-level information has been added for the Pennsylvania counties and municipalities that ban LGBT discrimination, and Blazucki plans to expand the local information for other states as well.
The initiative was first developed at April’s News Hackathon, staged by the Center for Public Interest Journalism at the Annenberg School of Communication at Temple University, and gained further traction at Random Hacks of Kindness last weekend. The effort, which Blazucki created in partnership with a team of computer developers, won second-place in both challenges.
Blazucki said the site can shed light on the disparities that some LGBTs face in their own state.
“In Pennsylvania, there are 28 counties that have protections based on sexual orientation or gender identity and this shows you that, if you live in one place you’re protected and, if you don’t, you’re not,” she said. “This helps to show the inequalities.”
Those inequalities are also evident through state comparisons, which Blazucki said can be a compelling tool to demonstrate the need for LGBT-rights legislation to lawmakers.
“It’s a really tangible, visible and immediate way to see who has rights and who doesn’t,” she said. “In Pennsylvania, we have a lot of red X’s, but if you change the state to New Jersey, they have mostly green check marks. It can help to make the case for the rights that we need.”
Blazucki said state organizations like Equality Pennsylvania and Pennsylvania Student Equality Coalition are considering how to utilize the tool, and she’s working to garner support from national LGBT organizations as well.
She is in talks with the International Gay & Lesbian Travel Association about taking the site international, which would necessitate the creation of new categories — such as the legality of same-sex sexual relations.
Blazucki is also working with the development team to introduce an RSS feed to keep the site up to date with the latest LGBT-rights legislation.
Jen Colletta can be reached at [email protected].