Tri-Cities leaders talk trans athletes, parent rights at petition rally
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Hundreds attended Kennewick rally to sign Let’s Go Washington initiatives.
- More than 200,000-215,000 signatures gathered across Washington so far.
- Initiatives would restore parental access and restrict trans girls from certain sports
Hundreds of Tri-City voters braved the rain Saturday at noon to attend a “Super Signer” event in hopes of changing parent communication and girls sports participation in Washington public schools.
Flanked by an unfurled American flag in the Kamiakin High School gymnasium — and surrounded by signs that read “No government employee can love your kids more than you” and “Level the field: Equity for girls in sports” — speakers voiced support for a pair of initiatives that Let’s Go Washington is trying to get in front of Olympia lawmakers this winter.
“This isn’t about hate or exclusion, it’s about preserving fairness and safety, the foundation of athletic integrity,” Gretl Crawford, Kennewick’s mayor, said of Initiative IL26-638.
“Girls deserve the same opportunity to compete on an even playing field that Title IX promised 50 years ago and generations of women fought for,” she continued. “Title IX opened the door for women’s sports. It is up to us to keep that door open, and make sure it stays fair for generations to come.”
The battle over transgender students in sports and the continued debate over Washington’s Parental Bill of Rights have become lighting rod issues for political discourse in recent months as the conservative group garners a momentum of voter support.
Let’s Go Washington signature gatherers have collected about 200,000 signatures for the bill of rights initiative and 215,000 for the sports initiative. They need to gather 309,000 signatures for each measures before Jan. 2.
Saturday’s event in Kennewick was the second of many stops across the state that the group is planning with local elected officials and supporters.
A steady stream of voters filed through the gymnasium to sign the initiatives, snagging pink “Protect Girls Sports” wristbands on their way out. It wasn’t immediately clear how many signatures were turned in.
Initiative IL26-001 would reinstate certain aspects of the parental bill of rights that lawmakers rewrote during the 2025 legislative session. Democrats chose to rewrite parts of the citizen initiative to align with state and federal laws. The group says the new initiative would allow parents and guardians to review teaching materials, student records, receive certain notifications about their kids and opt students out of certain activities
Initiative IL26-638 would restrict transgender girls from some sports, defining and restricting “biologically male” student-athletes from participating in certain activities that are “intended for female students only.” Those athletes would need verification from their doctor in order to participate.
‘Reckoning at the ballot box’
Opponents of the initiatives say that enacting them would lead to forced outings of gay students, make it harder for students to report home violence to trusted adults, and would require “invasive genital exams” for all girls playing sports.
But Amanda McKinney, a commissioner in Yakima County, said polling across Washington state shows “overwhelming support” for the Let’s Go Washington initiatives.
They’re “basic, common-sense things,” even attracting large support from independent voters and moderate Democrats.
If the Washington Legislature declines to enact the initiatives during the 2026 session, they’ll head to the November ballot for voters to have the final say.
“We are going to prove to the Legislature, when they convene in January, that they better pass these or come to a reckoning at the ballot box in November,” McKinney said.
Kennewick School Board Vice President Micah Valentine called the initiatives a “95-5 issue” in his community. State lawmakers are too busy pushing “an LGBTQIA agenda” rather than passing bills that mandate financial literacy in high schools, he said.
“One thing that I hear about a lot is why is Kennewick School District focused on social issues so much? Believe me, I wish we weren’t. That’d be great if we weren’t. But the state is pushing these things on us and it’s our job to represent the community, and our community wholeheartedly rejects that,” he told attendees.
Saturday’s event was also an opportunity for signature gatherers to turn in their sheets in a safe environment.
More than 40 cases of alleged illegal intimidation, harassment and attacks against signature gatherers across the state have been logged in recent weeks by the group. The group said that includes conflicts at Walmart in Pasco and Fred Meyer’s in Kennewick.
