{"id":44505,"date":"2026-06-24T19:40:37","date_gmt":"2026-06-25T00:40:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/redphoenix.news\/?p=44505"},"modified":"2026-06-24T19:49:39","modified_gmt":"2026-06-25T00:49:39","slug":"legislation-targeting-transgender-children-in-washington-represent-attack-on-all-workers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/redphoenix.news\/es\/2026\/06\/legislation-targeting-transgender-children-in-washington-represent-attack-on-all-workers\/","title":{"rendered":"Legislation targeting transgender children in Washington represents attack on all workers"},"content":{"rendered":"
The LGBTQIA+ Commission of the American Party of Labor–<\/h6>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
“Let’s Go Washington” founder Brian Heywood speaks at a rally. (Aspen Ford\/Washington State Standard)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In an effort to develop a generation of poorly educated and socially isolated workers, the most reactionary wing of the American ruling class has been engaged in a well-documented crusade<\/a> against both the rights of transgender students and the already underfunded public school system as a whole. A state-level front in this ongoing war has been opened by the \u201cLet\u2019s Go Washington\u201d coalition formed by right-wing billionaire hedge fund manager Brian Heywood. A longstanding financial supporter of the Trump regime, Heywood and \u201cLet\u2019s Go Washington\u201d have introduced a number of legislative campaigns in favor of typical capitalist and reactionary interests.<\/a> These range from limiting property taxes, securing state funding for home schooling (which, if enacted, would essentially amount to defunding public education), and strengthening legal protection of \u201cparental rights.\u201d It is at the intersection of several of these campaigns that Heywood\u2019s committee has introduced two initiatives into the Washington House of Representatives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The two initiatives in question are IL26-001, \u201cRestoring Parents\u2019 Rights,\u201d and IL26-638, \u201cProtecting Girls\u2019 Sports.\u201d IL26-001<\/a> is a reactionary attack disguised as a defense of parental rights. The measure would allow parents access to their children\u2019s medical and mental health records from their schools. At first glance this may seem like a reasonable measure, but it conceals the true aim which is to enable parents to police the private discussions between LGBTQIA+ youth and their counselors. This represents a clear violation of students\u2019 rights to the privacy and safety which so many of these vulnerable children rely on. In fact, studies show<\/a> that many adolescents experiencing mental health crises are also dealing with abuse, neglect, hostility, or other serious problems at home. The privacy afforded to students in counseling settings exists for a reason: it provides a lifeline for young people who cannot safely turn to their families for support. IL26-001 would tear away those protections, placing not only queer youth, but all vulnerable students like victims of child abuse, under greater surveillance, making it more difficult for them to access the help they need. Far from protecting children, it would leave many with nowhere safe to turn.  This initiative is the latest in a long line of attacks made by Heywood<\/a> against changes made to the so-called \u201cParental Bill of Rights\u201d in order to make it compatible with state laws <\/a>protecting the privacy of children. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The other bill championed by Heywood, IL26-638<\/a> would mandate physical examinations of children\u2019s genitals to document their sex assigned at birth if they wish to play in interscholastic sports. It would prohibit schools and nonprofit organizations from allowing transgender girls from playing in girls\u2019 sports. Any institution or individual found in violation of this law would be subject to penalties deemed by the applicable school board to be “proportional to the offense,\u201d leaving enforcement intentionally vague.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While often touted as upholding fairness or \u201cbiological reality,\u201d laws banning transgender girls from girls\u2019 sports are based on scientifically unsound claims. A metanalysis published in Feb. 2026<\/a> found that transgender women using feminizing hormone replacement therapy (HRT) had comparable fitness to cisgender women, and that available evidence \u201cdoes not support theories of inherent athletic advantages for transgender women over cisgender.\u201d What is well supported by the available data is the fact that gender-affirming care greatly improves the health and well-being of transgender and nonbinary children.<\/a> It is also documented that the increase in state-level legislation targeting transgender rights has been associated with an increase in suicide attempts among youths. If there is no scientific basis for sports bans targeting transgender girls, then we are left with the reality that they are part of a larger campaign to present reactionary positions as \u201ccommon sense\u201d measures. This becomes abundantly clear when the Washington ballot initiatives are viewed alongside legislation introduced in other states.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite overwhelming popular support, landmark legislation in Colorado that enshrines protection of transgender rights<\/a>, popularly known as the Kelly Loving Act, came under fire from reactionaries<\/a>. A common theme shared with the messaging of “Let’s Go Washington” was the ever-present call for protecting \u201cparental rights.\u201d However, a far more insidious motivation was communicated by the right-wing extremist and Colorado State Representative Brandi Bradley, when she described her fellow bigots as the \u201ctip of the spear\u201d in introducing reactionary rhetoric into law. While ultimately unsuccessful, the campaign against the Kelly Loving Act resulted in considerable political gains for reactionary elements in Colorado. With the support of various fascist elements on Social Media like \u201cMoms for Liberty\u201d and \u201cLibs of TikTok,\u201d the struggle against the Kelly Loving Act has been used as fodder in a national effort to manufacture outrage against LGBTQIA+ people and garner support for other causes that harm populations of working people, including legislation targeting undocumented immigrants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is also important to examine the role that strengthening so-called \u201cparental rights\u201d has played in this \u201ctip of the spear\u201d strategy. In 2023, at a rally entitled \u201cParents Matter,\u201d Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin reduced this position to a simple slogan<\/a>: \u201cChildren belong to parents, not to the state.\u201d The reduction of the status of children to the property of their parents is alarming yet central to both the nuclear family and its role in reinforcing the coercive power of capitalism. In this regard it should be noted that a key element of the far-right Proyecto 2025<\/a> is the weakening of laws protecting children from exploitative labor practices<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It can no longer be denied that the recent proliferation of legislation targeting transgender youth has been a powerfully effective tool for the most reactionary wing of the American bourgeoisie. Through these initiatives, billionaires like Brian Heywood have distracted workers from our shared interests and instead attempted to foment culture wars and animosity towards some of the most vulnerable populations among young people, and even sowing division where there previously was none. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Laws targeting access to life-saving gender-affirming care play a similar role as abortion bans and other attacks on healthcare. To the same extent, the fanatic crusade for \u201cparental rights\u201d is leading us down the path toward funding inadequate homeschooling programs and public-school austerity. It is no coincidence that the rapid spread of such hateful propaganda coincides with the rapid increase in costs of living and instability for the vast majority of American workers. The intended effect of such plans is to rear a new generation of less educated, more religious, and socially isolated workers fit for maximum exploitation by the bourgeoisie. It is critical that the working class not take this bait, and, more importantly, that we maintain a commitment to standing up for the rights of all oppressed people in their struggles for liberation.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In an effort to develop a generation of poorly educated and socially isolated workers, the most reactionary wing of the American ruling class has been engaged in a well-documented crusade against both the rights of transgender students and the already underfunded public school system as a whole. A state-level front in this ongoing war has been opened by the \u201cLet\u2019s Go Washington\u201d coalition formed by right-wing billionaire hedge fund manager Brian Heywood. A longstanding financial supporter of the Trump regime, Heywood and \u201cLet\u2019s Go Washington\u201d have introduced a number of legislative campaigns in favor of typical capitalist and reactionary interests. These range from limiting property taxes, securing state funding for home schooling (which, if enacted, would essentially amount to defunding public education), and strengthening legal protection of \u201cparental rights.\u201d It is at the intersection of several of these campaigns that Heywood\u2019s committee has introduced two initiatives into the Washington House of Representatives.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":44507,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[37,97,110],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-44505","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lgbtqia","category-us-news","category-youth"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/redphoenix.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/image-1.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/redphoenix.news\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44505","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/redphoenix.news\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/redphoenix.news\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redphoenix.news\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redphoenix.news\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44505"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/redphoenix.news\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44505\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":44509,"href":"https:\/\/redphoenix.news\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44505\/revisions\/44509"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redphoenix.news\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/44507"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/redphoenix.news\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44505"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redphoenix.news\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44505"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redphoenix.news\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44505"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}