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Washington Won't Discriminate
Religious Leaders, Women's Advocacy Organizations, and Some of the State's Biggest Employers Think Anti-Trans Discrimination Is Stupid and Dangerous
by Sydney Brownstone
Launching a statewide fight against trans discrimination from the inside of a church is a strategic move.
That strategy carries even more meaning when the church isn't located in Seattle, an urban enclave everyone already knows is rainbow-striped and proud of it. Instead, on April 28, more than a hundred people carrying "No on I-1515" signs packed the pews at the Renton First United Methodist Church. The message for supporters of a proposed ballot measure that would repeal protections for transgender people in bathrooms and locker rooms was clear: They are not the moral majority.
"We treat other people the way we want to be treated, even when somebody looks different, perhaps more important when someone looks different from us," Bishop Kirby Unti, of the Northwest Washington Synod, told the crowd.
Unti is one of several religious leaders, businesses, and advocates for survivors of sexual assault supporting Washington Won't Discriminate, the new coalition facing off against Just Want Privacy, the anti-LGBTQ group trying to police trans people's genitalia in gender-segregated bathrooms. Just Want Privacy's I-1515 would—if it gathers enough signatures to qualify for the ballot this fall—allow public and private organizations to keep transgender people out of the bathrooms that match their gender identities. The initiative would mandate that public school bathrooms and locker rooms be sex-segregated—and allow students to sue their schools if transgender kids use the gender-segregated spaces where they feel most comfortable.
I-1515 is still collecting the 246,372 signatures it needs to qualify for the ballot. As of May 2, Just Want Privacy has raised just $26,993, largely in cash donations. Washington Won't Discriminate, on the other hand, has raised $36,861, though those funds represent in-kind donations of staff time, legal consulting fees, polling, and web development.
by Sydney Brownstone
Launching a statewide fight against trans discrimination from the inside of a church is a strategic move.
That strategy carries even more meaning when the church isn't located in Seattle, an urban enclave everyone already knows is rainbow-striped and proud of it. Instead, on April 28, more than a hundred people carrying "No on I-1515" signs packed the pews at the Renton First United Methodist Church. The message for supporters of a proposed ballot measure that would repeal protections for transgender people in bathrooms and locker rooms was clear: They are not the moral majority.
"We treat other people the way we want to be treated, even when somebody looks different, perhaps more important when someone looks different from us," Bishop Kirby Unti, of the Northwest Washington Synod, told the crowd.
Unti is one of several religious leaders, businesses, and advocates for survivors of sexual assault supporting Washington Won't Discriminate, the new coalition facing off against Just Want Privacy, the anti-LGBTQ group trying to police trans people's genitalia in gender-segregated bathrooms. Just Want Privacy's I-1515 would—if it gathers enough signatures to qualify for the ballot this fall—allow public and private organizations to keep transgender people out of the bathrooms that match their gender identities. The initiative would mandate that public school bathrooms and locker rooms be sex-segregated—and allow students to sue their schools if transgender kids use the gender-segregated spaces where they feel most comfortable.
I-1515 is still collecting the 246,372 signatures it needs to qualify for the ballot. As of May 2, Just Want Privacy has raised just $26,993, largely in cash donations. Washington Won't Discriminate, on the other hand, has raised $36,861, though those funds represent in-kind donations of staff time, legal consulting fees, polling, and web development.
http://www.thestranger.com/news/2016/05/04/24039445/washington-wont-discriminate
