Two measures on the ballot in Washington are asking voters to legalize targeting and discrimination of LGBTQ youth. The measures would also have extremely negative consequences for all girls, their families, and other vulnerable youth.
- IL26-638: Requires gender inspection of girls to determine eligibility for school sports, in order to ban transgender students from participating in school sports.
- Speaker of the Washington House, Laurie Jinkins: “Every girl in this state is going to have to have an invasive medical exam. It’s shocking and hard for people to believe that.”
- Pediatric nurse Kelsey Gellner: “This poorly written initiative would mandate that families make an appointment, take time to drive to a medical office to get a doctor to conduct a medically-unnecessary “reproductive anatomy” exam, or pay out of pocket to send their daughters’ blood to a lab for genetic or hormone tests. Few parents will be able to afford the time and money to jump through these new hoops just so their daughters can play after-school soccer or ultimate frisbee. They won’t have to go through all of this for their sons though, because boys are exempt from these new sports physical requirements.”
- IL26-001: Seeks to remove protections for LGBTQ youth and other vulnerable youth who confide in trusted educators and counselors at school.
- Abuse survivor Gabriel Neuman writes that the measure would “discourage students facing domestic violence, sexual abuse, or bullying at home from seeking help from trusted teachers and school counselors, who would be required to release students’ confidential records to their parental or guardian abusers” and would force schools “to knowingly put LGBTQ+ kids in increased danger of violence and homelessness by outing them to abusive families.”
- Facts about forced outing.
- House Speaker Laurie Jinkins: “Current law says, if a parent or a caregiver has been accused of abuse of a child, they cannot get the child’s records immediately. This measure wipes that away and so a person who’s accused of abuse who’s under criminal investigation could get all of a child’s records.”
- Jinkins: “40% of homeless youth in Washington state are LGBTQ and report that they were kicked out of their home because their family found out about them. This is gonna contribute to that kind of abuse and to that kind of negative consequence for kids.”
- Both measures and a third measure to repeal the state millionaires’ tax were drafted and promoted by “Let’s Go Washington,” led by billionaire Brian Heyworth.
- No Hate in Washington State is urging NO on I-001 and I-638
Additional Facts:
- 455,000 LGBTQ people live in Washington, 6.9% of the population (Movement Advancement Project)
- 38% of LGBTQ adults in Washington are raising children
- GLAAD ALERT Desk (Anti-LGBTQ Extremism Reporting Tracker): Tracks anti-LGBTQ incidents nationwide, documenting the toll of anti-LGBTQ rhetoric on the physical and psychological safety of both LGBTQ and non-LGBTQ Americans.
- Washington: Since June 2022, Washington has faced over 150 anti-LGBTQ incidents, including 22 violent assaults, 5 arson attempts, and four bomb / shooting threats. In 2025, Washington ranked among the top 5 US states for most incidents.
