I went to bed last night feeling hopeful about the election, and I woke up this morning feeling absolutely sick to my stomach watching the results of Initiative 638. I am angry, I am disappointed, and quite frankly, I am having a really hard time wrapping my head around how we got here. I honestly thought Washington was better than this, and today I am questioning how we managed to take such an enormous step in this direction.
I am an auntie to a trans man, and I have always been a proud ally of the LGBTQ+ community. This is not just some political conversation for me. These are PEOPLE. These are our children, our nieces, our nephews, our neighbors, our friends, and people we love. These are human beings who deserve to feel safe, respected, included, and valued. I cannot begin to explain how angry it makes me that we are still having to fight for something as basic as treating people with dignity and respect.
What really pisses me off is how little conversation I saw happening around this initiative before people started voting. Where was the widespread education? Where were the advertisements explaining exactly what this meant? Where were the conversations about the children and families who would be affected? I know there were people working hard to get the information out, but from my perspective, it was nowhere near enough. I consider myself someone who pays attention to what is happening in our state, and even I feel like there was not nearly enough information getting to the average voter. That should concern every single one of us.
We are talking about an incredibly small number of transgender athletes in Washington, and somehow we have turned their ability to participate in school sports into this enormous political battle. I want people to really think about that for a minute. We are talking about CHILDREN who want to play basketball, run track, make friends, be part of a team, and experience the same childhood memories that so many of us take for granted. We have taken something that should be about teamwork, friendships, confidence, and belonging and turned it into another reason for children to feel singled out and different.
And then there is the medical verification requirement, which is another part of this that makes me absolutely furious. Under this initiative, girls who want to participate in girls' school sports would have to provide verification from a healthcare provider based on reproductive anatomy, genetics, or testosterone levels. There are serious questions about how this would be handled, what it could mean for children's medical privacy, and whether invasive examinations could become part of that process. As a mother, I find those questions deeply disturbing. Why are we even entertaining the possibility of putting children through something like that just so they can participate in a school activity?
I understand that people have different opinions about fairness in athletics, and I understand that there are conversations worth having. But there is a difference between having a thoughtful conversation about sports and creating policies that could leave children feeling humiliated, excluded, or afraid to participate. I cannot understand why we cannot approach these conversations with compassion, common sense, and an understanding that the people being affected are real children with real feelings.
And I am going to say something that might upset some people, but I really do not care. As a mother, I am seriously considering taking a stand when it comes to my own children's participation in school sports. I would absolutely consider keeping my boys out of school athletics if I believed participating meant accepting policies that went against the values I have spent their entire lives teaching them. I realize that is a big decision, and I know not every parent would agree with it. But I also believe there comes a point when we have to decide what lessons we are teaching our children through our own actions.
I have spent fifteen years raising my boys to understand that you stand up for people, even when the issue does not directly affect you. You do not have to be transgender to care about transgender people. You do not have to have a transgender child to understand why another parent's child deserves kindness, dignity, and respect. And you certainly do not have to agree with every single person in this world to recognize that they deserve to be treated like human beings.
What I want to see over the next few years is a serious, organized effort to revisit this initiative and examine every possible legal and legislative path toward changing it. I want more conversations, more education, and more people paying attention to what is happening in our schools. I want parents asking questions and demanding transparency about how these policies are implemented and how children's privacy will be protected. I want us to understand the actual number of students affected and the real consequences for those children and their families.
I love Washington. I was born and raised here, and my family has called this state home for generations. I have always believed there was something special about the communities we have built and the way we look out for one another. But today I am incredibly disappointed. I feel like we have forgotten that behind every political argument and every ballot measure are actual human beings whose lives can be changed by the decisions we make.
And to my nephew, whom I love dearly, and to every transgender person who is watching this unfold, I want you to know that there are people who see you, love you, respect you, and care deeply about your future. You deserve to live your life without constantly having to defend who you are. You deserve the same opportunities to find happiness, friendships, and belonging as anyone else.
I am angry because I care. I am speaking up because I care. And I am not going to stop caring just because an election does not go the way I hoped.
I am not interested in pretending that this does not matter simply because the number of children affected may be small. In fact, I think that makes it even more important that we pay attention. The way we treat the most vulnerable people in our communities says an awful lot about who we are.
We have some serious conversations ahead of us, Washington, and I sincerely hope we are willing to have them. Because at the end of the day, these are children, and I believe every single one of them deserves better than becoming the center of another political fight. I will be emailing Emily Randall and asking her to do an interview with me and if I can work closer to theses issues.
