Initiative: Don't endanger transgender individuals

Initiative 1515 is an expensive joke on Washingtonians. Paid signature gathers will insist: “Sign this petition to protect our children,” when it’s not really our children who need protecting. I have transgender friends who have meaningful lives. They work, they bank, they buy, they pay taxes, and they have families like everyone else. What they don’t have is the freedom to feel safe in public because of who they are.

I-1515 will make their safety even more precarious as we move into a new era of hate, misunderstanding and more danger for the transgender community, not less. Transgender people are attacked every day because attackers feel empowered by hate fueled political rhetoric. Don’t sign petitions without reading them. Removing current protections for transgender citizens that have worked for 10 years is a costly step backward. Let’s continue moving to the future standing strong for fairness and safety for everyone.

This story was originally published May 13, 2016 at 2:54 PM with the headline "Initiative: Don't endanger transgender individuals."