The Thurston County Board of County Commissioners proclaimed June 2025 as LGBTQ+ Pride Month.
The move comes amid a backdrop of political attacks and federal pressure driving nationwide legislative restrictions on LGBTQ+ rights.
“You can’t legislate us out of existence,” said City of Olympia Mayor Dontae Payne during a Thurston County Board of County Commissioners meeting on June 3, at which the proclamation was adopted.
Payne, the city’s first African-American and an openly gay mayor, said the proclamation matters more now because local governments are being left to respond where national protections have weakened.
“It’s so important that we live in a community and a county affirming who we are and celebrating us. … It seems like it’s just routine, but perhaps if you were different people in these seats, you may not be recognizing this. And so, we can’t take that for granted," Payne said.
The proclamation affirms that “all people, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression, deserve to live free from fear and with full access to opportunity and belonging.”
The June 2025 LGBTQ+ Pride Month proclamation also refers to the legacy of the 1969 Stonewall uprising as a historical breakthrough for LGBTQ+ rights. It also positions Thurston County as a public office standing in support of inclusion, equity and dignity for all residents.
“Many LGBTQ+ individuals still face discrimination, marginalization and violence simply because of who they are or whom they love,” the proclamation states.
Testimonials from LGBTQ+ advocates show how Pride declarations shape public safety and signal government responsibility.
Lucas Miller, of the Olympia chapter of PFLAG, shared that LGBTQ+ rights have stalled or, in many cases, have been reversed nationwide.
Transgender Americans, he noted, have been among the most affected. Miller also defended local allyship as increasingly vital at a time when queer Americans are “fighting for our very existence.”
“No oppressed group ever won its freedom without significant help from people outside that group,” Miller said.
The Olympia chapter of PFLAG, a national LGBTQ+ ally network, meets on the second Sunday of each month to advance LGBTQ+ civil rights. Miller pointed to the City of Olympia’s decision to declare itself a sanctuary city for LGBTQIA2S+ people as one example of local action.
Although the proclamation does not create new legal protections, its language mirrors prior declarations by the city and affirms the county’s objective to protect the rights of individuals based on gender identity and access to transition-related care.
Miller said Washington continues to see an influx of transgender people fleeing discrimination in other states.
“Transgender Americans who are even now fleeing to Washington state, seeking a place where they can exist publicly without harassment, without violence, without having their identities and their health care taken away,” Miller said.
As Pride Month stretches to straddle both celebration and resistance, Quinn Snow of the New Boyz Club said it still carries deep meaning.
“Things are pretty rough right now for us, but I think that’s also why it’s really important to remember the good, and that Pride Month is a time where we get to celebrate ourselves," Snow said.
The New Boyz Club provides peer support for transgender, nonbinary and gender-questioning adults, who were assigned female at birth. Snow said the group creates space to affirm identity and share community outside systems that often isolate or overlook them.
Like Miller, Snow said allyship keeps people from feeling disconnected and reminds LGBTQ+ residents they’re not alone.
In the shadow of national anti-trans laws, Thurston County advocates say the fallout is already showing up in schools.
In February, the U.S. Department of Education opened a Title IX investigation into the Tumwater School District (TSD) after a complaint alleged a transgender girl from Shelton played in a girls basketball game. The Foundation Against Intolerance and Racism (FAIR) claimed the district violated federal protections by allowing her participation.
The case followed Executive Order 14099, issued by President Donald J. Trump. The order bans transgender girls and women from participating in women’s and girls sports at schools receiving federal funds.
The order directs the U.S. Department of Education to enforce Title IX based on “biological sex at birth,” wherein it blocks transgender athletes from competing based on their gender identity.
In March, the TSD adopted a resolution endorsing Amendments 7 and 8 proposed by the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association.
The amendments limits girls sports to biological females only, and creates an open division for all other athletes. The board stated the move was intended to promote “fair and equitable competition.”
In another recent case, Pizza Klatch Executive Director El Sanchez said the group also witnessed direct effects of national hostility.
According to Sanchez, the organization recently learned of a case of a 23-year-old transgender person who moved to Thurston County from another state "to feel safer" after facing discrimination.
Pizza Klatch is a nonprofit, which provides in-school support for LGBTQ+ youths. It runs weekly lunch-hour support group sessions in multiple Thurston County schools in order to reduce isolation and suicide risk among LGBTQ+ students and their allies.
Students come for pizza, but stay for the sense of safety and rare chance to sit in a room without hiding. The group gives them space to talk, listen, and be around other people who share the same fears, the same pressures, and sometimes the same survival stories.
“We do anonymous surveys with our students every year,” Sanchez said. “It’s really always over 60% of the students who say that because of attending Pizza Klatch, they self-harm less. They think of suicide less. Sometimes, students tell us it’s the only reason they go to school.”
Commissioner Emily Clouse, who identifies herself as part of the LGBTQ+ community, also disclosed she was once a participant in Pizza Klatch.
“I also attended Pizza Klatch meetings when I was in high school, and can say that I know firsthand the experiences are exactly what were stated today,” Clouse said. “It was an opportunity that really helped me throughout high school.”
The program was founded in 2007 following a local wave of suicides by queer students. While not funded by the BOCC, the nonprofit partners with public schools and is dependent on school-level permission and nonbinding backing from county partners.
Sanchez said more than 40% of youths surveyed say they feel safer at school after joining. Some report academic improvement because of regular participation.
Equating Pride Month with a platform for inclusion and access, Capital City Pride leader Natalie Copeland said the group’s annual PrideFest extends visibility and generate work opportunities to the LGBTQ+ community.
The multi-day festival transforms downtown Olympia into a public venue for art, music and performance. The event now spans 10 stages and brings in more than 4,000 attendees, according to organizers.
Copeland said the festival doubles as a training ground for emerging artists, youths and LGBTQ+ workers, who may face barriers in traditional creative industries.
Even as it draws thousands for celebration, Copeland said the deeper aim of PrideFest is to create “a space for healing,” especially for LGBTQ+ people processing trauma or isolation.
She also noted ach portion of the festival is led by BIPOC LGBTQ+ artists and uplifts Capital City Pride’s equity goals and commitment to visibility.
The 2025 PrideFest runs from June 27-29 and will include performances, a downtown block party and LGBTQ+ on-site weddings.
Clouse also reiterated Pride Month must be understood as more than a proclamation. She relayed that LGBTQ+ residents, especially queer youths and transgender people of color, deserve safety, belonging and equitable access in civic life.
As a veteran and a public official, Clouse said breaking silence holds personal meaning and urged affirming values be matched with “action, policies, and care that truly reflect the dignity of all people.”
"Pride is not just about being seen, it’s about being celebrated, feeling free and feeling safe,” Clouse said. “I want them to see that there is room for them, not just in this county, but in its leadership.”
21 comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here
Southsoundguy
Thurston County defends enabling mental illness.
Wednesday, June 11 Report this
Quadlok
Southsoundguy, do you ever have a take that isn't the wrongest one possible?
Wednesday, June 11 Report this
Southsoundguy
Nothing I’ve said is wrong, you just want to promote mental illness and suffering because that’s what your worldview demands. You think what I say is wrong because you live in upside down world.
Wednesday, June 11 Report this
Boatyarddog
Southsound Guy.. Your a radical right wing Nazi Loving TROLL. Un hinged at the jaw and have Nothing to say but SLANDER... ive asked you to explain your claim of Liberials "MENTAL illness" that supports your HATE FILLED NAZI retoric of People different than you are Mentally ill or support some kind of Harm, TO ANYONE! I'll say it again until you get it though your Concrete Block..
None Of YOUR fkin Business what others do. JUST shut the F Up!
Wednesday, June 11 Report this
JulesJames
Boatyarddog: actually, because city and county funds are being spent on Pride Month, it is "Southsoundguy"s business. It becomes public business when public money is spent on it. Being a little more tolerant of differing opinions likely will help your blood pressure. And typing skills.
Wednesday, June 11 Report this
KatAshe
First. Quadlok, you can’t reason with those insecure about their own sexuality, so feel threatened by anyone who is different.
I for one, a straight woman, loves that I live in a community that supports tolerance for everyone.
Wednesday, June 11 Report this
KatAshe
Southsoundguy,
You need to stop reading psychology books written in the 1950s.
Wednesday, June 11 Report this
Honestyandrealityguy
Straight people are good people too! Never forget.
Wednesday, June 11 Report this
Southsoundguy
Kat, you shouldn’t believe idiotic leftist fads. Reality is going to wreck you people—it already is. I am the harbinger of your DOOM.
Thursday, June 12 Report this
CobraCommander
Count on SouthSoundGuy to always be wrong.
The only mental inlness here is you, son.
Thursday, June 12 Report this
Southsoundguy
Again, wrong by what standard? If the standard is that of Frankfurt school and French post-modernists, then I’ll gladly be labeled “wrong.”
Thursday, June 12 Report this
HotTractor
Whoa, that SSguy is sounding a bit unhinged. It's possible therapy would help, but I doubt he can afford it.
Good job Thurston County!!
Thursday, June 12 Report this
wolfmanner
Your right again Southsoundguy. !!!!
Thursday, June 12 Report this
Boatyarddog
JulesJames, It becomes public business when public money is spent on it. Being a little more tolerant of differing opinions likely will help your blood pressure. And typing skills. Then let him attend City Council Meetings to address his concerns, public comments hinging on Hate and Misinformation claiming MENTAL Illness of those that choose different types of existance, are nothing but TROLLING. I jave asked this person to explain in open terms WHAT Mental illness could be attributed to choosing A Different mode of expression... Fact is, THERE ISN'T ONE! It's a judgement call that has no basis in representation of mental Illness. The real harm is the stigma that is given to different choices... in plain words Hate filled Rants. Also, I don't give a Rats butt about others opinions of MY Typing... You got the message, that is all i care about.
Thursday, June 12 Report this
Boatyarddog
Also JulesJames, my question to you is Why your an enabler to Hate comments. And Do you believe there are only Two Sexes? Nature and science would prove you wrong if that is the case.
Thursday, June 12 Report this
Boatyarddog
KatAsh, Thank you for your Reasonable comments. I, A straight Male feel exactly the same. And do not appricate LIES and HATE comments I Will speak out that Trurh
Thursday, June 12 Report this
Southsoundguy
Why can’t you figure out that someone who thinks they are the other gender, and in some cases goes so far as to mutilate their own body, is mentally ill?
Thursday, June 12 Report this
Boatyarddog
SSpotatohead (aka) southsoundguy, you don't Understand squat that is the problem. The only Mental illness that covers your pathetic responses is Homophobia.. That IS a Bonified Clinical Pathlogy. And a true sickness that causes real harm.. even Death.
Thursday, June 12 Report this
Southsoundguy
Boatyard is an example of what happens when liberalism reaches its natural conclusion.
Friday, June 13 Report this
Boatyarddog
SSguy. Your response to Kat was epic.. Harbringer Of DOOM?..
Your Diabolical Really:)
Saturday, June 14 Report this
Mugwump
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Friday, June 20 Report this