Somerville Passes Polyamorous Non-Discrimination Ordinances

SOMERVILLE, MA – Somerville City Council made history Friday with the passing of non-discrimination ordinances to protect polyamorous families and relationships, city officials announced in a news release.

The ordinances make Somerville the first city in the country to extend legal protections to polyamorous and non-nuclear families and relationships.

The ordinances were introduced by City Councilor At-Large Willie Burnely and Councilor JT Scott to prohibit employers, law enforcement, and others from discriminating against someone based on their family or relationship structure.

“As a polyamorous person, I'm grateful to live in a city that embraces rather than punishes people based on their family or relationship structure,” said Councilor Willie Burnley Jr in the news release.

Many kind of families and relationships are protected under the ordinances, such as: multi-partner and multi-parent families and relationship, step-families, multi-generational households, non-nuclear family structures, consensually non-monogamous relationships, and consensual sexual or intimate relationships including asexual and aromantic relationships, according to city officials.

The ordinances were drafted by lawyers and activists at the Polyamory Legal Advocacy Coalition – part of Chosen Family Law Center – as well as Harvard Law School's LGBTQ+ Advocacy Clinic.

Somerville has previously partnered with these organizations to pass their multi-partner domestic partnership ordinance in Somerville in 2020, as well as Cambridge and Arlington, MA in 2021.

Similar non-discrimination laws and plural domestic partnership laws have been introduced on the west coast and are expected to pass this year.

"We commend the Somerville city council for their leadership on this issue.” Dr. Heath Schechinger, counseling psychologist and Co-Founder of Polyamory Legal Advocacy Coalition, said in the release.

“Every family, including polyamorous ones, should have equal legal protections, and it's heartening to witness this crucial step in cultivating a society that cherishes the liberty to love and form secure families without the burden of discrimination,” Schechinger added.