By Hannah Saunders
At today’s meeting, the Seattle City Council unanimously passed $300,000 in emergency funding for Trans and Queer people. This comes after the City suddenly ended the Trans and Queer Community Stabilization Interdepartmental Team, which was created in response to an ongoing internal Trans refugee crisis. The hundreds of thousands of dollars will be placed with trusted community organizations to assist with providing emergency shelter, food, employment support, and other essential services.
The council chambers were full of speakers there to discuss the emergency funding and a ban on rental junk fees. One community member by the name of “Purple Six,” thanked the council for doing the “barest minimum,” regarding the proposal, which should have been accomplished a year ago.
“This is peanut money. This is such a small amount of money for this City. You are spending millions to expand fucking Flock cameras, and in that respect, anyone here who votes against such a small amount of money— the peanut money that my community needs— anyone who votes against it is signaling strongly that they are on the side of atrocity,” Purple Six said. “They are on the side of bigotry. They are on the side of the people who are brandishing guns on my community.”
Several other Trans community members spoke, and some commenting in support of banning junk fees also expressed solidarity with the Trans community. But a small group of others, some of whom don’t even live in Seattle, were spewing transphobic remarks. One of those individuals is detransitioner, Apostate Ari, who TtS previously reported had pulled a gun out of their bag and dropped a magazine full of bullets while scuffling with Queer community members in Cal Anderson Park.
He claimed it is “absolutely ridiculous,” to provide $300,000 for a “fictional genocide.” Apostate Ari also added how Trans “migrants,” have moved from red to blue states because “women aren’t comfortable with men in bathrooms.” People yelled Apostate Ari out of the room while Councilmember President Joy Hollingsworth cut him off by thanking him several times.
At the end of the meeting, Councilmember Alexis Mercedes Rinck, who authored the emergency funding for Trans people, took time to highlight the transphobic remarks and the strength of the Transgender community.
“I want to state to our Queer and Trans community directly: you belong in Seattle. I am glad you are here. You deserve dignity and respect. And we are going to do the work to live up to our promise of being a welcoming city,” she said.
While many acknowledged how more funding is needed, Traction’s executive director, Michael Woodward, wrote an open letter to the council, thanking them. Traction is a Trans-led organization that has assisted Trans people with relocating to the area.
“Today’s vote is historic. Seattle has once again led the nation as the first city in the United States to dedicate municipal funding specifically to support trans people escaping the wave of anti-trans legislation,” Woodward said. “And while $300,000 is not enough, it is a beginning and we celebrate it as such. It will provide real relief, real beds, real bus passes, real food, and real housing support.”
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