On the evening of November 5, two days after the vote, opponents of Initiative 638 gathered at Westlake Park in downtown Seattle. The measure restricts transgender girls’ participation in school sports in Washington state. In the preliminary count, about 57 percent of voters supported it. The measure overturns a longstanding policy that allowed students to play on teams consistent with their gender identity and requires female athletes to provide medical verification of their sex.
Rainbow and transgender flags fluttered in the damp November air above Westlake Park. Among those who came was Fae Chinnici, holding a flag before the rally began. Then the participants—parents, students, queer activists and their allies—marched down Pine Street toward Pike Place Market, chanting, “638 is trans hate.” For a city accustomed to seeing itself as a haven for LGBTQ+ people, the result was a particularly painful sign of a shift in the political climate.
I-638 appeared on the ballot after the state Legislature failed to act on it during its session. The initiative was promoted by the conservative committee Let’s Go Washington, founded by Redmond hedge fund manager Brian Heywood. Supporters argued that it was needed to ensure fair competition and safety in girls’ sports, saying transgender athletes may have a physical advantage over cisgender competitors.
The initiative’s text goes well beyond a simple ban. It directs schools and nonprofits that hold separate interscholastic competitions to bar from girls’ events students it describes as “biological males.” At the same time, every student wishing to compete on a girls’ team must provide certification from a health care provider. The measure lists three grounds for certification: reproductive anatomy, genetic characteristics or natural testosterone levels.
This second part of the measure was the focus of concern at the rally. Doctors and opponents of the initiative noted that routine school sports physicals do not involve this kind of screening. The law also does not explain how schools are to apply it in practice, who will pay for any tests or what children without a regular doctor should do. I-638 supporters counter that no additional invasive examination will be required and that the measure only calls for documenting information already collected to clear students for sports.
Since 2007, Washington has allowed transgender students to compete on teams consistent with their gender identity. The state’s athletic association, the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association, estimated that about 10 transgender children participate in school sports statewide. Opponents of the initiative say that, for the sake of so few teenagers, the new rule will create a medical barrier for thousands of girls—and cast suspicion on any athlete whose appearance or performance someone deems “not right.”
A broader message also came from the Westlake stage: for those gathered, the debate over school teams was less about medals than about who is allowed to simply be a child at school. Rally organizer Evan Gortner of the Gender Equity Movement called the law exceptionally harsh and said rules for transgender athletes should be developed with the involvement of the children themselves, their parents, coaches and schools—not through a campaign funded by wealthy political donors.
The measure was previously opposed by Gov. Bob Ferguson, the King County Council, the Seattle School Board, Washington State PTA and a number of medical and civil rights organizations. Lawyers with the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington, or ACLU of Washington, have already indicated that they intend to challenge I-638 in court. The count is still underway, but the margin appears too large to change the outcome. So the mood at Westlake was less like a campaign rally than a post-election gathering: the law will likely take effect, and the fight to overturn it is only beginning.
Based on: Advocates rally after WA voters pass ban on trans girls in girls school sports