The City of Olympia updated its municipal code last week to explicitly prohibit discrimination and to add “family or relationship structure” as a protected category.
The code updates stemmed from requests by Olympia residents who experienced discrimination due to being part of polyamorous, non-monogamous or other non-traditional family or relationship structures.
“Folks in the community, you’re the reason for this change,” said Council Member Robert Vanderpool, the prime sponsor of the two ordinances passed Tuesday, Feb. 24.
Vanderpool, supported by Mayor Dontae Payne, Mayor Pro Tem Yến Huỳnh and the rest of the city council, asked city staff during a Jan. 13 council meeting to explore adding civil protections for diverse families.
The request stemmed from meetings Vanderpool has had with community members in the year since the city expanded its sanctuary city protections to those in the LGBTQIA2S+ community.
Community members had asked the city council for expanded protections the month prior.
Among the concerns Vanderpool and Olympia City Council sought to address with a city code update was the fact that diverse families often face systemic barriers in housing, health care, education and other services, according to City Manager Jay Burney.
“The existing policies often assume dual income or nuclear households, which creates inequities," Burney said.
City staff came back to the city council with two ordinances: one establishing a dedicated chapter in municipal code for anti-discrimination policy, and one updating the city’s existing chapter on unfair housing practices.
Both ordinances specifically protect those in polyamorus relationships, non-monogamous relationships, multi-generational households, single-parent households and other diverse family and partnership structures from discrimination.
“It is an umbrella intentionally,” said Mayor Dontae Payne. “Most of us do have some sort of non-traditional structure to our families, so what we’re doing tonight actually impacts people that you probably know.”
The addition of a new chapter to city code closes a legislative gap in the city’s anti-discrimination policy.
“We want to outlaw discrimination across the board, so it’s important to have a discrimination code,” Payne said.
Together, the code updates aim to support inclusion, reduce discrimination, affirm non-traditional families in the community and advance Olympia’s sanctuary city and civil rights commitments.
The code updates also give Olympia residents a legal avenue to fight back against discrimination.
“Unfortunately, folks who want to judge or want to discriminate probably are going to do it anyway, to some extent,” said Huỳnh. “And so to have a protection was something that was really important to me, important to us.”
Olympia is the first Washington city to pass civil protections for diverse families, according to Payne.
Calling on his experience as an openly gay man and the historical precedence against local governments enacting protections for LGBTQIA2S+ people, Payne said, “For me, this is recognizing the fact that people who are in different kinds of families already live in our community.”
Members of the city council thanked city staff for their work on the ordinances, and community members who spoke at the Feb. 24 meeting in support of the code updates.
“I know people were questioning ‘Is this something that people are actually asking for? or ‘where is this coming from?’ So your presence is actually very important,” Payne said. “I hope it’s a win for you and yours tonight, and it’s a pleasure to see you.
