Will Olympia become a sanctuary city for trans and queer people? Here’s what the council thinks
The City of Olympia may soon be Washington’s first Sanctuary City for transgender and other LGBTQ+ people.
About a dozen community members spoke during public comment Dec. 10 to ask the council to adopt a resolution expanding the city’s sanctuary status.
Every member of the council expressed their support for exploring a new sanctuary status. Council member Jim Cooper said the city should move quickly with a path forward, preferably before Jan. 20, when President-elect Donald Trump will be sworn into office.
A place to thrive
Alice Rosewater, a longtime resident of Olympia, urged the council to declare Olympia a sanctuary city for trans people who are fleeing discrimination and state-sanctioned violence across the country.
“This is an urgent issue,” Rosewater said. “State-sanctioned violence and discrimination against my community is increasing at an unprecedented rate all across the country. And the past two years have seen a record number of anti-LGBTQ+ and specifically anti-trans bills introduced and passed in state legislatures across this country. We are under attack and we are afraid.”
Rosewater said she’s personally met trans people who have been forced to flee their home states.
She said the council has acted in the past to declare Olympia a sanctuary city for migrants and later reproductive rights, after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade. She said it’s time the council further the sanctuary designation to include trans and LGBTQ+ people as well.
Rosewater was one of several speakers to offer their perspective in future discussions to ensure a resolution includes tangible proposals and actions.
Miro Stuke said they moved to Olympia from Arkansas over eight years ago to escape the oppressive culture and state policies.
Stuke said Project 2025, which many believe is a wishlist for Trump’s second presidency, outlines a plan to further eviscerate trans rights across the country.
“Now is the time to shore up existing protections and make intentional and actionable policy choices to keep Olympia safe and inclusive into the future,” Stuke said.
Stuke said Olympia’s discrimination survey from 2023 shows that more than a quarter of Olympians identify as LGBTQ+, and approximately 10% of those people are trans or nonbinary.
It also shows that every form of discrimination disparately impacts trans and nonbinary Olympians, including in employment, housing, law enforcement, education, health care and access to services.
“So what could a sanctuary city mean for Olympia? It could look like instruction to police not to cooperate with extradition of people seeking gender affirming care in states where that becomes illegal, or in cases where there’s laws targeting the parents of trans kids or gender-affirming care providers,” Stuke said.
“It could look like lobbying for trans rights at the federal level, ensuring city staff have trans and LGBTQ+ specific training, and providing programming specifically for LGBTQ+ Olympians all times of the year, not just when there’s a skating rink.”
Jasper Marino also urged the council to take steps to declare Olympia a sanctuary city for LGBTQ+ individuals, and specifically for trans people like them.
“We live in an era where being trans feels like a fight for survival,” Marino said. “Across this country, the federal administration and many state governments have declared open hostility towards our existence, whether it’s through legislative attacks on our health care, bathroom bans, or attempts to erase us from schools and workplaces, trans people are under siege.”
Marino said for them, Olympia being a sanctuary for trans and LGBTQ+ people would mean not cooperating with federal and state policies that aim to harm them, and ensuring trans people have access to health care, housing, education and employment without fear of discrimination.
“This means actively fighting for our rights to exist in public spaces as our authentic selves,” Marino said. “I don’t just want to live in Olympia. I want to thrive here. I want to see a future where trans youth grow up knowing they are valued in love, and where they don’t have to fight so hard for a simple life.”
Lucas Miller is a board member of PFLAG Olympia, a nonprofit that provides support, education and advocacy for LGBTQ+ people, their friends, families and allies.
Miller said the Olympia chapter has been contacted with increasing frequency by LGBTQ+ people, especially trans people, who live in red states and are looking for a safe place to move. He said people are looking for access to health care and even to just be able to use a public restroom without fear of arrest.
He said PFLAG has been getting calls from parents in states such as Texas, Florida and Tennessee who are struggling to get health care for their children. Many of them are considering moving to Washington.
“I’m here on behalf of of our organization to support Olympia in declaring itself a sanctuary city, especially for trans youth and their families looking to leave states that are trying to deprive them of health care and other transition options that make it very untenable for them to continue to live in those states,” he said.
Miller said PFLAG is working on creating new support groups to address some of these issues and help families, and he’s hoping the city will support those efforts.
Council support
Mayor Pro Tem Yến Huỳnh said when she first heard of the new sanctuary city proposal a couple weeks ago, she was unsure what to think. She said she gets a little grumpy when the city does some proclamations that don’t include actionable items.
“How are we going to make this real for community members, right? Is this just just another shiny thing?” she said.
Huỳnh said she loved that some folks who spoke during public comment included how a resolution would be real to them, and what actions the city can take. She said she’s supports a path toward adopting a new sanctuary city resolution.
Mayor Dontae Payne said the next federal administration is likely going to target sanctuary cities. He said the community’s request to expand Olympia’s status shows they won’t be bullied into compromising their values, and they’re going to fight back.
Council member Jim Cooper said Olympia is committed to staying on the correct side of history, and expanding the city’s sanctuary status would affirm that.
He asked that the City Manager conduct an implementation report and come up with suggestions for improvement around the city’s immigrant and refugee sanctuary resolution, as well as the reproductive rights resolution.
Cooper also asked that staff bring forward a resolution for LGBTQ+ people, with a focus on queer and trans people. He said a lot of people have Jan. 20 on their mind, and he’d like to move as quickly as possible.
This story was originally published December 11, 2024 at 2:29 PM.
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