Initiative 638: Sex Verification Requirements for Female School Sports Initiative

VOTE YES ON ALL THREE Let's Go WA Citizen Initiatives: I-645, REPEAL THE INCOME TAX; I-638, PROTECT FAIRNESS IN GIRLS’ SPORTS; and I-001, STRENGTHEN COMMUNICATION BETWEEN PARENTS AND SCHOOLS - LetsGoWA.com

Initiative 638 is another project of Brian Heywood and the ultra-conservative group Let's Go Washington, this time directly targeting and attacking school-aged girls under the guise of fairness and protection. We all want fairness and safety in sports, for all students, but this poorly written measure will subject tens of thousands of girls to invasive and costly medical exams to verify their sex for sports participation, just to exclude 5-10 trans girls statewide. Boys will not be required to undergo the same exam. If passed, this initiative would create the most extreme sports ban in the country. As it is written, the initiative changes the law around sports physicals to ban the use of birth certificates and instead require medical sex certification for all girls, forcing them to endure invasive sex inspections just to participate in sports - including non-physical activities like esports. While the authors of the measure claim the intent is to protect the safety and fairness of girls' sports, it instead creates many inequities, including for girls who rely on free sports physicals at school and for girls who don't have regular access to a doctor. Rather than fund efforts to create more opportunities for youth athletes, Brian Heywood is creepily spending millions to unfairly target and isolate a handful of transgender girls who just want to play on a team with their friends. Nurses, doctors, mental health professionals, and teachers are strongly opposing this initiative, noting it creates more harm than it prevents. Vote NO on I-638 to actually protect safety and fairness for girls in sports.

Recommends to vote "No"