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Lacey proclaims March 31 Transgender Day of Visibility; local advocates urge continued support
Summary
Mayor Andy Ryder read and signed a proclamation declaring March 31, 2025, Transgender Day of Visibility. Speakers from PFLAG Olympia and the No Boys Club thanked the council and stressed the need for ally support amid national challenges.
Mayor Andy Ryder read and signed an official proclamation on March 18 declaring March 31, 2025, Transgender Day of Visibility in the City of Lacey.
The proclamation cites the day’s founding in 2009 and says the city stands with transgender, gender nonconforming and nonbinary residents "to build inclusive and healing spaces, and to protect and defend those who are most vulnerable." The proclamation also referenced a U.S. Department of Justice statistic, stating the rate of violent victimization against people who are transgender was 2.5 times the rate among persons who are cisgender.
Lucas Miller, a board member of PFLAG Olympia, thanked the council and urged continued allyship. "When people are telling you that your very identity is going to be legislated out of existence, that's when it becomes difficult, and that's when it becomes a real act of courage, for allies from outside a marginalized community to stand with that community," Miller said.
Quinn Snow of the No Boys Club, a peer support group for adults assigned female at birth who identify as transgender or nonbinary, also addressed the council. "Even these gestures," Snow said, referring to local proclamations and welcoming policies, "help us feel safer, I think, to an extent." Both speakers noted people are relocating to the Olympia–Lacey–Tumwater area seeking safer communities and supported the council’s action.
The city presented the proclamation to the local advocates after Mayor Ryder’s reading.
