ABOUT THIS INITIATIVE

PFLAG actively opposes the current petition drive to put initiative I-1552 on the ballot for the upcoming November election. You can read the full initiative here. I-1552 would repeal Washington’s 11-year-old transgender non-discrimination laws, preventing transgender people from using the bathroom of their gender and severely impacting their rights and safety.

• It repeals longstanding protections for transgender people that have worked successfully for over a decade to protect our friends, family, neighbors, and fellow citizens.
• It particularly targets transgender students at schools, authorizing a bounty of up to $5,000 per instance to be paid to students who “catch” a transgender youth in the “wrong” restroom.
• It defines “sex or gender as determined or that existed biologically or genetically at the time of a person’s birth.

In addition to allowing public places and school to discriminate, I-1552 could result in enormous financial cost to our state—driving away conventions, tourism, and new business, which would severely impact Washington’s  economy, and opening public schools to expensive and time-consuming lawsuits. Consider the losses North Carolina is facing from their recent HB2 “bathroom” Bill, which the Associated Press has calculated as least $3.76 billion over 12 years.

LEADING THE OPPOSITION

Three groups are leading the effort to defeat this initiative.

Washington Won’t Discriminate is broad-based coalition of law enforcement officers, clergy, sexual assault prevention groups, businesses and many others working to defeat I-1552 and protect freedom, equality, and respect for everyone in Washington. It is gathering signatures  I-1552 opponents its Decline to Sign” page.

Transform Washington is public education campaign supported by the Pride Foundation. It celebrates the dignity, diversity and humanity of transgender and gender-diverse people through their own first-person stories, putting human faces on this issue.

Washington Safety & Access for Everyone (WA SAFE Alliance) is a coalition of organizations and individuals across Washington state who have joined together to defend longstanding anti-discrimination laws, especially for the transgender community.

In addition, Washington Won’t Discriminate has compiled a business coalition of over 1000 companies and corporations and an extensive list of endorsers, including elected officials, political and advocacy organizations, public interest groups, community groups,faith leaders, law enforcement, attorneys, business owners, and more.

WHAT WE CAN DO

We can add our own voices against I-1152 and encourage as many others as we can to join us in opposition.

• Add your name to Decline to Sign.
• Be aware that the initiative proponents have set up regional petition areas and if approached, decline to sign.
• Spread the word to your friends, family, and community to decline to sign.
• Distribute this “Decline to Sign” flyer to your network via social media, email, and/or post a print-out in an approved area.
• Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper explaining your opposition to this initiative. Consult How to Write a Letter to the Editor for guidelines and examples.