Inslee's Legacy

A new Washington state law has drawn national attention after opponents said it elevates state authority over parental rights, allowing minors to pursue medical gender-changing interventions and abortions without parents' consent. Or even parents' knowledge.

Gov. Jay Inslee signed Senate Bill 5599 into law on Tuesday. The controversial measure drew protesters to the state capitol in Olympia last month to protest for and against the legislation. 

I have strongly opposed it in this Faith and Freedom column.

The alliance of soon-to-depart Gov. Inslee, with uninformed elected officials and hard-core homosexual activists in the Legislature, will forever be a feature of Inslee's legacy, a scar on the children and a broken heart in parents whose family has been indelibly changed by this atrocity. 

Be informed, not misled.

How the state will separate children from parents.

Under the new law, Senate Bill 5599, children can stay at licensed youth shelters without their parent’s knowledge while seeking medical treatments like gender-transitioning services and medications. The previous law required licensed shelters and host homes to notify parents within 72 hours when a minor came into their care.

The "protected health care services" include gender-altering procedures, which for minors included anything prescribed by a doctor to treat dysphoria, the bill said. 

The bill states, "Gender-affirming treatment can be prescribed to two-spirit, transgender, nonbinary, and other gender diverse individuals." 

This is child abuse. 

“We know that young people experiencing homelessness are exposed to dangerous and harmful outcomes. That is why we must take every step we can to ensure their safety,” Rep Marko Liias said in a prepared statement. “This legislation ensures that our trans youth have safe options and access to secure, stable shelter when they may not be welcome at home.”

Marko is a homosexual activist and a State Representative. He is misleading his uninformed  Democrat colleagues and the public.

Inslee says "no" to parents. And Republicans.

There was a lot of pushback from parents, and every single Republican state legislator voted against this bill, but that didn't matter---Governor Inslee could have vetoed the bill, but clearly, he is on board with the state taking the child away from the parent when it comes to gender dysphoria---a time when kids need their parents most. 

State Senate Republican Leader John Braun said the troubling legislation "clears the way" for kids to "game the system" by taking away parents' God-given rights. 

"The only thing SB 5599 would do is cause harm by driving a wedge between vulnerable kids and their parents, at a time when a teen lacks the perception and judgment to make critical life-altering decisions," Braun said. "A parent may not even know why the child ran away and could involve law enforcement or other groups in a desperate search… all the while going through an unnecessary emotional nightmare, imagining the worst about what might have happened."

Braun also said that children's brains are not fully developed until they are at least 22 years of age, which means Democrats are pushing minors to believe they can make a life-altering decision that they may regret one day.  

The conservative group "Conservative Ladies of Washington" issued a statement opposing SB 5599:

"This bill is an assault on children and parental rights in Washington state. This bill allows adults to prey on special-needs children or children with trauma, mood disorders, and other mental health issues. Shutting out parents and severing this critical relationship for children in order to do irreversible procedures is destructive and often deadly for these children. Based on a 'compelling reason', which would be that minor child that has been convinced to get 'gender affirming' services (or an abortion), this bill would allow providers to cut parents out of the decision-making process," the statement said.

 “We’re saying that the state of Washington, under this underlying policy, can take this child and not contact the parents with no signs of abuse, with no pending case of abuse, and the foster system not involved. I’m a little confused Mr. Speaker,” Rep. Jacquelin Maycumber (R-7) said in the Legislature.

“Among its many flaws, the bill assumes families that don’t ‘affirm’ a child’s short-term desires are being abusive. Wrong! Sometimes love requires parents to not affirm their child’s whims. Loving parents guide their children as they grow. Sometimes that means saying ‘no,’ ” Rep. Jim Walsh (R-19) added in agreement in a press release. “During floor debate, we heard the tired old cliche that ‘it takes a village to raise a child.’ That’s false. That notion has resulted in exploding crime rates, homelessness, and rising teen suicide rates in Washington. Enough. Parents are the primary stakeholders in their children’s upbringing―not the government.”

Pamela Garfield-Jaeger, in her testimony against this bill, said, “In the dystopian nightmare we are in, if a parent doesn’t use the child’s chosen pronoun or name, they are labeled dangerous.” 

What can we do now?

If you live in Washington State, you can sign the petition.

Repeal efforts are already underway to nullify the law, with some representatives wanting to turn this into a referendum for the November election. The bill is set to begin in late July unless enough valid signatures (approximately 162,000) are gathered to put it on hold until a statewide vote.

Be Informed. Be Vigilant. Be Engaged. Be Prayerful.