Seattle has become the next US city to recognize and protect nonmonogamous relationship structures, after the city council voted unanimously on Tuesday, Sept. 15 to pass CB 121278. 

Seattle will join nine other US cities (including Oakland, CA, and Cambridge, MA) that have instituted nondiscrimination protections for nonmonogamous relationships, and will become the second city in Washington state (alongside Olympia) to do so.

Sponsored by District 8 Councilmember Alexis Mercedes Rinck and put forth by District 9 Councilmember Dionne Foster, the legislation will amend Seattle municipal code to expand its definition of sexual orientation to include “diverse sexual orientations and relationship structures,” such as Pansexual, Asexual, and Nonbinary gender expressions. The law will also add “consensual relationships with multiple partners” under its definition. 

“Every family is different, but every single one deserves equal protection under the law,” said Councilmember Rinck. 

In her introduction of the bill, she explained how the proposed protections are intended to reflect how residents currently live: “Chosen family is family. Expanding civil rights protections benefits all of us.” 

Councilmember Foster also commented in support of the bill. “People I know and love will be safer with this legislation,” she said. 

During public comment, Jessa Davis, founder of the Seattle Coalition for Family and Relationship Equity and a Seattle LGBTQ Commission cochair, urged the city council to support the measure. Other notable speakers included Seattle LGBTQ Commissioner Ashley Ford and Queer Power Alliance Executive Director Taylor Farley. 

The new protections in CB 121278 will be implemented in June 2027.