Washington Families for Freedom Statement on Trump Memo Attacking Free Speech of Political Opponents

Today, Danni Askini, Co-Chair of Washington Families for Freedom, issued the following statement in response to President Trump’s memo attacking the free speech of political opponents.

“The first amendment is clear: we all have a right to freedom of speech, assembly, and petition under the first amendment. This action is designed to intimidate groups who oppose Trump from exercising those rights. This will especially impact targeted groups, including the trans community. Make no mistake, we will not be intimidated into silence by Donald Trump.

Our state has the opportunity to reject Trump’s agenda of erasing trans people from public life by refusing to sign the initiatives (IL 26-001 & IL 26-638) funded by hedge fund mega-millionaire Brian Heywood and Let’s Go Washington. We can all agree that it’s wrong to single out and attack anyone, including transgender people, for simply living our lives. We need more love and kindness and less hate.

We urge Washingtonians who support our efforts to peacefully spread the word about the harms of these initiatives. Violence against any signature gatherers, who are also exercising their first amendment rights, is not acceptable under any circumstances.”

Washington Families for Freedom, a coalition of parents, teachers, businesses, LGBTQ+ and community groups, is standing up against attacks on students’ rights to freedom and privacy. The coalition includes the ACLU of Washington, Greater Seattle Business Association, Gender Justice League, Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates, Pro-Choice Washington, Washington Education Association, SEIU 775, and UFCW 3000, among many others.

Those who wish to join our campaign to protect students, families, and communities can sign up: here