Florida is the 15th Most Tolerant State (But Still Hates Gays So Much)

​The Daily Beast will find any reason to make a listicle, so in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day they decided to rank the most tolerant states in America. Yes, I believe it was King who said, "I have a dream that someday people will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the results of a mathematically questionable ranking system designed for maximum web page views." Anyway, Florida came in 15th. Which is pretty good for a Southern state, and we probably would have come higher if our politicians didn't shamefully hate the GLBT community so damned much.

The Daily Beast used a complicated formula based on hate crime statistics, anti-discrimination laws, legal rights for same-sex couples, and the general attitude of the population. Florida came in at 15th, which is only bettered in the South by Virginia and North Carolina. Here's how Florida's statistics broke down:

15, Florida
Tolerance score: 61 out of 100
Hate crime score: 32 out of 40
Discrimination score: 21 out of 40
Gay rights score: 0 out of 10
Religious Tolerance Score: 8 out of 10
Hate crime incidents per 100,000 residents: 0.7 (9 out of 50 states)
Discrimination cases filed per 100,000 residents: 18.7 (32 out of 50 states)
Population in support of same-sex marriage: 41%
Population that believes many religions lead to eternal life: 72%

Yep, Florida got a big fat zero for gay rights. That's lower that many states where the population's support for same-sex marriage is even lower, pointing to the fact that Florida's politicians may be out of step with their constituents on GLBT issues.

Wisconsin is apparently America's most tolerant state, while Wyoming is the least.

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