Back in the summer of 1986, long before Olympia became known as a progressive stronghold in the Pacific Northwest, city streets and council chambers looked vastly different. In a first-person account, longtime community activist Anna Schlecht reflected on the climate of fear, cautious activism, and fierce resistance that marked the campaign for the city’s very first gay rights ordinance.
The historical essay traces a reality where legal protections against discrimination simply did not exist. During her early years in Olympia from 1976 to 1986, Schlecht lived in a patchwork of safe zones—living in a collectively owned house with other women and working in small businesses owned by gay women to insulate herself from potential eviction or termination. By 1982, she secured a position in the city’s carpenters’ shop, stepping into a heavily blue-collar environment where she chose to remain in the closet for four years to protect her livelihood as her household’s breadwinner.
The Push for Legal Protections in the Mid-1980s
The political tide began to shift when a small coalition of local activists decided to challenge the status quo. Among them was Abby Haight, then a reporter for The Olympian newspaper who had previously co-authored a series titled “Gays in Olympia.” Working alongside political figures and community organizers, Haight held strategic discussions with Mayor Bill Daley and former state legislator and city council member Mary Stuart Lux to gauge community readiness for a civil rights ordinance.
Tom Howdeshell, another key organizer and state worker who had previously faced direct workplace harassment from local law enforcement for being openly gay, also stepped forward to help draft the legislation. Mayor Daley consulted fellow council members to secure foundational support before bringing the measure forward for a public hearing.
The shift did little to stem the backlash. Opponents flooded council meetings, visited council members’ homes after hours, and organized church prayer campaigns against the ordinance.
Olympia City Council Unanimously Passes Local Gay Rights Law
On June 17, 1986, the public hearing drew a packed house to City Hall, featuring sharply polarized testimony from community members, local pastors, and faith leaders. Despite intense opposition—including claims that homosexuality was an abomination—the Olympia City Council deliberated and ultimately passed the measure by a unanimous vote.
The decision made Olympia the first small town in Washington state to enact a local gay rights law, trailing thirteen years behind Seattle’s 1973 ordinance. The statute gained expanded protections for transgender residents the following year, setting a regional precedent for Thurston County.
Reflecting on the legacy four decades later, Schlecht notes that while legislation alone cannot instantly erase deep-seated social prejudice, municipal codes remain a vital baseline for establishing that discrimination is unequivocally wrong.
