Olympia City Council moves to expand civil rights protections to include polyamory

The Olympia City Council is considering a referral that would significantly expand the city’s non-discrimination code by adding “family or relationship structure” as a protected civil rights category in a move to include polyamorous and non-monogamous households.

The proposal, sponsored by Councilmember Robert Vanderpool, using information from the Organization for Polyamory and Ethical Non-Monogamy (OPEN), would require the City Council to draft and consider an ordinance extending protections across housing, healthcare access, public services, and other areas governed by city law.

Under the referral, Olympia would add “family or relationship structure” to the list of protected classes wherever such protections already exist in the city code. According to the staff report and language referenced during the Council meeting, this would cover a wide range of living arrangements, including single-parent households, multi-generational families, chosen families, non-monogamous relationships, and polyamorous households. The legislation is also being proposed to support the "sanctuary city" status "for LGBTQIA2S+ people."

Proponents of the referral repeatedly argued that people in polyamorous and LGBTQIA2S+ communities face heightened discrimination, particularly in housing, citing US Department of Housing and Urban Development data showing that familial status discrimination accounts for 8.5 percent of Fair Housing Act complaints, as well as a 2024 survey by OPEN documenting stigma faced by adults in non-monogamous relationships.

However, the HUD data referenced does not distinguish between federally recognized “familial status,” which primarily concerns households with children, and relationship configurations involving multiple adult partners. Critics note that the ordinance would apply to “anyone who lives with anyone,” potentially including friends, extended family members, or unrelated adults sharing housing.

Councilmembers repeatedly framed the proposal as an “expansion of civil liberties” and positioned it against what they described as a hostile federal political climate. Video of the meeting, obtained by Alesha Perkins of OSD Rescue, showed council members thanking advocacy organizations, including OPEN, for their assistance with education and policy development related to polyamory and ethical non-monogamy.