Grassroots campaign emerges to repeal bathroom rule

A new bathroom rule, created in December by the Washington State Human Rights Commission, has received plenty of attention in the past month or so. According to the rule, people can enter whatever gender restroom they choose, as long as it corresponds to the gender they identify with. For example, a transgender man can enter and use a women’s restroom. It doesn’t matter if the women or children using the restroom feel squeamish, uncomfortable or scared. That’s the rule and it carries the same weight as a law.

A grassroots effort, dubbed “The Just Want Privacy Campaign,” recently emerged to raise $100,000 and find 1,000 voters to collect signatures to file an opposing initiative to place on the ballot. As of Feb. 19, the group raised $20,000 toward its goals.

The group has credibility. Former 13th District Sen. Joyce Mulliken, R-Moses Lake, serves on its leadership team. She joins team members Joseph Backholm, of Snohomish, executive director of the Family Policy Institute and former staff counsel in the state Senate, and Angela Connelly, of Tacoma, president of the Washington Women’s Network.

Efforts to repeal the rule in the state Legislature have been unsuccessful so far. After Senate Bill 6443 to repeal the rule was approved by the Senate Labor and Commerce Committee on Jan. 27, it failed to receive an approval vote by the full Senate on Feb. 10. Another proposed law, Senate Bill 6548, would allow public and private entities not to allow individuals to enter a gender-segregated facility that does not correspond to their genitalia, according to a recent Columbia Basin Herald article. On Feb. 5, Senate Bill 6548 passed to the Rules Committee for a second reading and it isn’t clear if the bill will advance by the time the Legislative session ends on March 10.

Washingtonians are concerned about the rule. More than 300 people attended a hearing for Senate Bill 6443 because it was such a concerning and controversial topic. We applaud that the public was able to weigh in on this topic in contrast to its creation in relative obscurity.

People view this matter differently. Some lawmakers see it as a children’s privacy rule, while others believe it’s a civil rights issue. We view it both.

At any rate, we agree that all people should have equal access to public restrooms. Access is not what’s debatable. What is at stake is the rights of everyone in our society: men, women and children, whether they be gay, heterosexual or transgender. There has to be a way to find common ground on which to balance these competing values.

For more information, please visit justwantprivacy.org.

— Editorial Board