On Feb. 20, I attended the meeting held at Quimper Unitarian Universalist Fellowship to understand what becoming a sanctuary community would entail. The meeting, promoted as a forum to define sanctuary status and facilitate open discussion for pros and cons, was really more of a push to organize a group of activists to promote this agenda with the City Council, sheriff and Port Townsend residents.

The agenda itself, while organized and structured, was very one-sided. The four speakers came from a mix of backgrounds and professions, all supporting the sanctuary classification.

While the stories elicited an emotional response, I failed to see any concrete reasons for claiming Port Townsend as a sanctuary city.

I found myself wondering about the true motivation for such a request. I cannot see any benefits to our community, and to be completely honest, it appeared to be more of a rebellion against our current administration versus truly wanting to help and honor people of all lifestyles.

Classifying Port Townsend as a sanctuary city not only affects the 10,000-plus people that call this community home, but all the surrounding communities as well –communities that have zero say or vote in this decision. Voting against sanctuary status is not selfish, but responsible.

Friends, it is time to be bold and speak up. Do not let a small group of people bully us into taking actions that are not in the best interest of our community.

We live in a free country, but let us not kid ourselves, that freedom comes at a price. If we encourage people to break laws they feel are unjust, we will not be enjoying that freedom for long.

JULIA GOINS

Port Townsend