Activists and Lawsuits Aim to Overturn Voter-Approved Transgender Initiatives In Colorado and Washington
Updated
A lawsuit has been filed against the state of Washington alleging the newly passed ballot initiative to prevent biological males from participating in female sports is unconstitutional. Colorado also passed a ballot initiative segregating school sports based on biological sex and prohibiting gender-transition surgeries on minors. Both initiatives face legal challenges, as Governor-elect Phil Weiser has said these statutory regulations should be modified as needed. Protestors have called on state-level representatives to repeal the voter-passed initiatives.
The Washington lawsuit is filed by the ACLU of Washington, Legal Voice, and Pacifica Law Group on behalf of nonprofit TransFamilies, the Washington Education Association, and multiple parent plaintiffs.
The lawsuit provides four arguments that the voter-approved initiative is unconstitutional. First, it alleges it violates the state’s privacy law by requiring an inspection of the child’s genitals, a genetic test, or a blood test for testosterone for a student to be eligible for female sports teams. The plaintiffs also allege the initiative violates the Washington Equal Rights Amendment because it requires sex-verification for females, but does not equally impose the same restriction for participation in boys’ sports.
The third alleged violation is section 1 of the Washington Constitution, which guarantees every child an education “without distinction or preference on account of . . . sex.” The plaintiffs and lawyers assert that school sports are a part of that education.
The lawsuit also alleges the initiative violates the Washington Law Against Discrimination, the Equal Educational Opportunity Law, and Washington’s Parental Rights statute, which all “explicitly prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex, gender expression, and gender identity, in public accommodations and schools.
Let’s Go Washington, the group that sponsored the initiative, responded to the lawsuit’s claims. The group said that others have been lying about the initiative and are attacking the rights of voters by weaponizing the legal system.
“The text of I-638 does not require exams of any kind,” said Dr. Michael Welsh, a Family Practice doctor in Buckley, WA. “The only designation for medical professionals that conduct routine sports physicals is that they verify the sex of their patient, which doctors already do in the course of the appointment. As a medical provider, I have access to information on my patients in their medical records, and that information is sufficient for me to check a box designating their sex.”
The group says sports physical forms already included a box to identify biological sex until 2019, when it was removed, and doctors have access to medical records that contain this information. LGW points to the Supreme Court precedent that allows sex-based eligibility restrictions as evidence that the initiative is not discriminatory against girls. The group also notes that males undergo a hernia check during a sports physical, and that the absence of a hernia exam is enough for the doctor to conclude the patient is female.
“It’s incredibly disheartening to see activist groups such as the ACLU filing suit against Initiative 638. This is a complete distraction and a slap in the face to Washington voters and the GIRLS of this state,” said Frances Staudt, a Washington State high school athlete and advocate for fairness in girls’ sports. “What about the thousands of girls who simply want a fair chance to compete, to be protected, and to have their voices heard? Do we not deserve to be protected? All we want is safe and fair opportunities to play the sports we love, and they can’t help but sue the state for wanting to stand with us. When will girls like me be worth protecting to these organizations who want boys to take our places? As a 17-year-old girl, I am calling on Washington Attorney General Nick Brown to do his job and uphold the law.”
In Colorado, Governor-elect Weiser and protestors claim that the sports initiative contains vague language that could require invasive genital inspections. Rocky Mountain Equality Action Fund Chief Executive Officer Mardi Moore said: “Voters were misled into accepting policies that unnecessarily and unfairly target trans youth and their families.” She added, “These poorly written measures will cause confusion and harm for real kids, families, schools, and doctors.”
Protestors have called for representatives to repeal the two trans-related propositions that passed on election day. Erin Lee, co-founder of Protect Kids Colorado that led the two initiatives, said if anyone attempts to undermine the newly passed propositions, “they should expect fierce opposition and political accountability. They don’t get to celebrate democracy when it elects them and then disregard it when the voters deliver a result they don’t like. That, again, is the definition of fascism.”
Families Not Politics raised $4.41 million in an attempt to beat the Colorado proposition barring transgender surgeries for minors in the state, while Protect Kids Colorado raised just $215,613 to promote the measure to voters ahead of the election. The primary objections to the law were that it may have unintended effects on children who are not transgender, the decisions should be made between a family and their doctor, and that these surgeries are “very rare” for minors.
According to Stop the Harm, there have been 60 minors in Colorado who have received a transgender surgery between 2019 and 2023, with a peak of 20 in 2021. Many of the hospitals that were performing these surgeries have since stopped the practice under pressure from the Trump administration. The same database shows that 5,747 transgender surgeries were completed on minors across the country from 2019 through 2023, according to insurance claims.