Initiative or Levy
Contact Information
- Endorsement Requester: Milena Sherman from No Hate in WA State
- Website: https://www.instagram.com/nohateinwastate, https://www.threads.com/@nohateinwastate, https://www.facebook.com/nohateinwastate, https://bsky.app/profile/nohateinwastate.bsky.social
Would you be willing to speak to members of the 31st Legislative District Democrats about this initiative?
Yes
Initiative or Levy Information
Title
Join us by voting NO on two initiatives targeting LGBTQ+/trans youth: IL26-001, and IL26-638
Summary
While Washington families are struggling to pay for food, housing, and health care, a mega-millionaire from California is spending millions on two poorly written initiatives that threaten the safety of all Washington kids. This November, VOTE NO on IL26-001 and IL26-638, which endanger Washington students with invasive genital exams, forced LGBTQ+ outings, and restricted access to help when they need it most, exposing them to more hate, bullying, and harassment.
Description
NHWS is opposing two initiatives that are being push by mega-millionare Brian Heywood of Let's Go WA. He has poured $1.5 million dollars into these initiatives, including by using paid signature gatherers who've earned up to $6/per signature. However, it's not just him: other wealthy folks in the state, like Kemper Freeman, Peter Plath and Robert Ramsey have all poured hundreds of thousands of dollars into targeting kids who just want to be themselves. They are all current and former business and fossil fuel executives.
– IL26-001, a return to the so-called "parental bill of rights" rhetoric from prior years, and inspired by Southern states, would put our most vulnerable students at risk by subjecting them to forced outings from school officials to unsupportive parents, enables parents who are under criminal investigation for abuse and neglect against their own child to obtain confidential information on their children, restricts students' access to help, and allows extremist groups, like Moms for Liberty, to challenge what can be taught in WA classrooms.
– IL26-638, or the sports ban initiative, aims to ban transgender girls from K-12 sports, but goes much further: it subjects all girls to invasive exams of either reproductive anatomy via genital exams, hormonal testing, or chromosomal testing, just to be able to prove they're a "real" girl. All boys, including trans boys, are exempt. This initiative, if passed, would be the most extreme ban in the entire country.
While fear mongering over LGBTQ+ and trans people has skyrocketed in recent years, WA has already had a sensible policy in place since 2007: The WA Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA), has evaluated whether trans students can play in sports on a case-by-case basis. In fact, the WIAA Representative Assembly has rejected a blanket ban for two years in a row now, with the most recent vote having taken place on April 20th, 2026.
On behalf of the NHWS coalition, we would love to have the 31st LD Democrats join our coalition to ensure these dangerous initiatives, and their millionaire backers, are defeated and sent a clear message: hate has no place in our beautiful state.
