The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) Pride flag is flying once again at Federal Way City Hall after a flag raising ceremony on June 2.

2025 marks the sixth year that the flag has flown at City Hall and only the tenth year since same-sex couples gained equal rights in marriage in the U.S.

Federal Way community member Catherine North and her wife were one of the first couples to marry in Washington state after the legalization. North spoke at the flag raising, sharing the importance of the city’s support through both the flag and a proclamation read by Mayor Jim Ferrell.

“It does my heart good to see the Pride flag flying … . It represents inclusion and acceptance, and it sends a message that you are welcome here and that you are not alone,” North said.

“Right now, some young person is coming to grips with being gay or trans and wondering if death isn’t a better option,” she continued, urging the crowd to “let that sink in.”

Noting that the suicide rate of LGBTQ youth is four times higher than other youth, she also spoke to the solution: the suicide rate goes down when kids have a safe person they can talk to or a safe place to be themselves.

“I think it’s important that we make Federal Way that place,” North said.

The Pride flag is a symbol of love and resilience for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer community (LGBTQ), created in 1978.

Pride Month commemorates the 1969 Stonewall riots, which were an uprising against the police brutality that was regularly doled out to LGBTQ people in New York City. The movement grew into an unstoppable push for acceptance and civil rights across the country.

Although District 30 State Sen. Claire Wilson could not be in attendance this year, she shared remarks that Mayor Ferrell read.

“Throughout history, in the face of hate, advocates stood up and pushed for change, leading the way for the rights and protections we see today. Currently, those rights and protections are being threatened,” Wilson said.

In addition to acknowledging the current atmosphere, Wilson also highlighted a message of the importance of joy.

“Resistance is hard work and my hope for this Pride Month is you find ways to celebrate joyfully and proudly,” she said.

Ferrell shared some remarks as well, expressing that “diversity makes us stronger.”

“This is really one of the special days in our community,” Ferrell said. “It’s an opportunity for us to reflect, and it’s an opportunity … not only to raise a flag, but to come together as a community and with some shared principles about acceptance and diversity.”

Diversity Commission member Allison Fine spoke at the flag raising, laying out the history of the Pride flag’s presence in Federal Way.

In 2019, the city read the first ever Pride proclamation in Federal Way, initiated by then-Councilmember Martin Moore. Fine said she was excited that the city was acknowledging Pride for the first time, but asked, why not do what many other cities do and also fly a flag?

In response to that first Pride proclamation, “those neighbors who did not support queer people came through loud and proud, and their messaging after a few contentious months of community discord was negative,” Fine said.

In response, Ferrell made his stance of support clear along with an intent to fly the flag, she said.

The next year, the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and Fine said, “if Mayor Ferrell’s commitment to the queer folks in Federal Way was going to waver, he had a reasonable excuse.”

Despite the challenges of the pandemic, Ferrell followed through and the first Pride flag was raised with a small audience of community leaders.

Mayor Ferrell affirmed in this year’s proclamation that “it is imperative that all people in our community, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity and expression feel valued, safe, and supported by peers and community leaders.”

The Pride flag means a lot to Federal Way residents who couldn’t attend the flag raising, too.

Liv H. told the Mirror that they grew up in Federal Way with parents who were not accepting or supportive because of their religious beliefs. Liv is nonbinary, genderfluid and pansexual and has found a workplace that is supportive at Bella Red Salon and community at LGBTQ spaces in nearby Tacoma.

To Liv, steps like flying a Pride flag or making a proclamation can’t fix everything, but they do send an important message. To those who don’t like Pride, Liv said they just wish people would put in more effort to understand.

Although Pride does refer to a group defined by sexual orientation and gender identity, celebrating Pride is not about sex, like some critics seem to think, Liv explained.

“Pride…is about celebrating everything we’ve overcome…a celebration about what we’ve been through,” Liv said, noting that the point is to make it so that people don’t have to “grow up hating themselves like I did.”

When they do come across people who make hateful or ignorant comments, Liv said that although it is hurtful, they try to give the person the benefit of the doubt.

“I try to come from a standpoint of being educational to people who are not as open minded … but there are also the people who are not there to learn anything they are just there to debate,” Liv said, adding that “it’s hard that people are believing the most ridiculous lies out there.”

Catherine North speaks at the Pride flag raising on June 2 at City Hall. She and her wife were one of the first same-sex couples to get married in Washington state after it was legalized, and they have lived in Federal Way for over 30 years. Photo by Keelin Everly-Lang / the Mirror

Allison Fine speaks at the Pride flag raising at City Hall, sharing the history of how the flag came to be flown in the city – which was in part due to her advocacy – and about the challenges still faced by the LGBTQ community. Photo by Keelin Everly-Lang / the Mirror

Community members gathered bright and early on the morning of June 2 to see the flag raised and to celebrate the start of Pride Month in Federal Way. Photo by Keelin Everly-Lang / the Mirror.