The Seattle LGBTQ Commission has urgently called for the mayor to issue a civil emergency order amid a significant influx of 2SLGBTQIA+ refugees fleeing Republican-controlled states. The mayor has previously called for greater cooperation but has not issued the emergency declaration.
Commission member Jessa Davis stated that families are arriving in the city specifically to protect their transgender children. “We’re seeing families coming to Seattle to protect their trans kids,” Davis said.
The commission warned that community organizations critical to supporting these vulnerable individuals are at immediate risk of closure within the next three, six, or 12 months due to resource shortages and overwhelming demand.
“Without intervention, the downstream costs of letting people slip through the cracks will cost the city more,” Davis added. She noted that while there are not “busloads of thousands” arriving, the numbers are significant enough to strain existing services.
On Saturday, members of Seattle’s Mutual Aid Network for Trans and Intersex Individuals and the Gender Equity Movement organized a rally to push for the emergency declaration.
