Seattle Approves Measure Protecting Non-Monogamous People
The bill also protects multigenerational households, as well as recognizing more gender identities and sexual orientations as protected classes under city law.
Seattle has joined several cities and towns across the United States in recognizing non-monogamous people as a protected class.
On Tuesday, the Seattle City Council passed a bill that extended civil rights protections to non-monogamous residents as well as to those living in multigenerational households. The bill also recognizes more gender identities and sexual orientations as protected classes
Other governments, including those of Cambridge and Somerville in Massachusetts and Berkeley and Oakland in California, have passed similar measures, according to The Guardian.
The outlet notes that Seattle is the 10th city in the U.S. to have these policies in place.
Those who championed the protections say it helps expand civil rights in an era when such rights are being targeted by the federal government under President Donald Trump.
Jessica Davis, a Seattle advocate and recent member of the Organization for Polyamory and Ethical Non-Monogamy, said she was inspired to get involved after her partner faced job discrimination over her non-monogamy.
She told The Guardian that this isn’t a “red-versus-blue culture war issue” and that there are Trump supporters who are non-monogamous.
“If we’re not expanding the circle of protections, we are leaving ground for people who aren’t being quiet about the fact that they are coming for marriage equality next,” she said.
Seattle officials said that the measure follows a history of inclusive rights protections.
“Seattle has a proud history of advancing civil rights protections, but I think those protections only matter when people can actually access them, and there’s a pathway for enforcement of them,” Phil Lewis, a member of the Seattle Human Rights Commission, said.
The city was the first in the country to vote to protect the rights of queer people.
Seattle’s new law will go into effect in June 2027.
Davis said that similar measures are being proposed and drafted in cities like Baltimore, Denver, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.
