Harmful Anti-LGBTQ+ Initiatives Threaten the Safety of Vulnerable Kids
Heywood Proposals Could Increase Risks For Every Student, Say Abuse-Prevention, Safety, Education, and LGBTQ+ Leaders
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Friday, January 2, 2026
Hedge fund mega-millionaire Brian Heywood says he plans to submit signatures for two harmful anti-LGBTQ+ initiatives today. If passed, IL 26-001 and IL 26-638 could increase abuse and safety risks for some of our state’s most vulnerable students, including LGBTQ+ students, and students seeking mental health support at school.
Sophia Lee, Board Member of Gender Justice League said, “Instead of addressing affordability, housing, and other real problems in Washington, Let’s Go Washington is playing political games with the lives of vulnerable trans and queer kids. LGBTQ+ students want what every other student wants — to be able to go to school feeling a sense of safety and support. These initiatives are not only clear attacks on trans and queer youth, they will put every Washington student at risk. While most parents are loving and supportive, the reality is not all kids are safe at home, and need to turn to a trusted teacher or school counselor for help. No LGBTQ+ kid should live in fear that their school will be forced to ‘out’ them to unsupportive parents at home. We already know forced outing for LGBTQ+ youth is tied to high rates of family rejection, homelessness, and high levels of depression. We must stop these initiatives from being signed into law in order to protect our most vulnerable students.”
Amarinthia Torres, Co-Executive Director of the Coalition for Ending Gender Based Violence said, “Our Coalition works to build safe and just communities free from gender-based violence and abuses of power. These initiatives threaten the safety and help-seeking efforts of every Washington student, especially our queer and trans young people. Forced outing does not make LGBTQ+ youth safer. Forced genital exams for girls does not make them safer. Reducing disclosures of abuse does not make survivors or our communities safer. These initiatives are a distraction from true safety by making young people more vulnerable to abuse, not less.”
Retired Police Detective Carma Clark said “No girl should be forced to submit to unnecessary exams of her ‘reproductive anatomy’ simply because she wants to play on a team. Yet this initiative would increase risk to all girls in a misguided effort to target and discriminate against trans girls. If this had been in place back when I played field hockey, I would have been reluctant to try out because I knew I didn’t fit certain stereotypes. I would have been subjected to repeated questions and harassment about my gender and could have also been subjected to invasive inspections of my genitals when I was a young athlete.”
IL 26-001 would partially repeal the WA Safety Act, forcing schools to:
Potentially “out” LGBTQ+ students to unsupportive families
Hand over students’ reports of domestic violence and sexual abuse to abusive parents
Make it harder for students to get mental health help from school counselors
IL 26-638 would repeal Washington’s successful policy on transgender students in sports, in place since 2007, and:
Could require girls as young as 11 to undergo unnecessary and invasive physical examinations of their “reproductive anatomy” to play on an after-school team. Boys are exempt.
Replace the WA Interscholastic Activities Association’s successful policy for transgender students in sports, in place since 2007, with a statewide blanket ban.
Brian Heywood has personally spent more than $3 million on paid signature gathering, and must submit 308,911 valid signatures for each initiative to the legislature. The WA Secretary of State’s office says the typical invalid signature rate is 15%, and suggests a 25% buffer of 386,000 total submitted signatures per initiative. Heywood was fined $20,000 by the PDC for campaign finance violations related to signature gathering during his initiative campaigns in 2024.
Washington Families for Freedom is endorsed by many child advocacy, safety, education, and health providers including the Coalition Ending Gender-Based Violence, WA Youth Alliance, Team Child, Washington Education Association, League of Education Voters, Gender Justice League, Pro-Choice Washington, ACLU of Washington, and Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates.
For more information visit WAFamiliesforFreedom.org
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