There are two efforts afoot to try and roll back Governor Inslee’s unconstitutional power grab of parental rights in Washington State. We encourage you to act on both.
Background
SB 5599, as signed by the Governor, allows shelters to assist children in obtaining abortions, puberty blockers, gender “reassignment” surgeries, or any other health services prescribed by a doctor to treat “dysphoria,” without contacting police, CPS, or the child’s parents. The bill report states that a shelter can be classified as “any person, unlicensed youth shelter, or runaway and homeless youth program.” This means that a child could seek shelter at any stranger’s house and that person would not need to alert police that they were harboring a runaway child. This opens the door for countless threats to the safety of minors across the state.
First, a referendum has been filed by Dawn Land to override SB 5599, the bill signed into law by Governor Jay Inslee that allows youth shelters to assist children seeking abortions or “gender-affirming care” to get it behind their parents’ backs.
If Referendum 101 gathers the required signatures, it will be on the November 2023 ballot. If a majority vote no, and reject SB5599, then the law will be repealed.
For more information on R-101, please click here.
Additionally, an initiative has been filed by Rep. Jim Walsh, I-2081, which would do many of the things that R-101 would do, plus more. If Initiative 2081 gathers the required signatures, then it will be on the November 2024 ballot and will take effect immediately.
In order to appear on the November ballots, the referendum needs at least 200,000 signatures by July 15th and the initiative over 300,000 by December 31.
Just as a reminder, the term “initiative” is used when a group of citizens petitions to enact a new law. The term “referendum” is used when a group of citizens petitions to change or challenge an existing law.
You can pick up both petition signature sheets from the FPIW’s offices in Lynnwood Monday through Friday from 9am to 2pm.
In addition to serving as a pick-up/drop-off point for the signature pages, FPIW is supporting these efforts in other ways. If you’d like to join the fight, please consider making a tax-deductible gift to FPIW.
