Washington State’s religious right is running out of time to gather signatures for I-1552, a do-over of last year’s failed attempt to roll back transgender rights, but they aren’t giving up just yet. In an email received by NPI today, I-1552 sponsor Kaeley Triller Haver announced the campaign’s intent to orchestrate a “Signature Sunday” event. The email asks pastors to register their churches so that petitions can be mailed to them.

We need the local church to step up to the plate and lead the charge. The Bible is pretty clear that love always protects. If we stand idly back and let the government declare that grown men have a right to be naked in front of our daughters without their consent, what in the world will we allow them to declare next?

Little girls can’t defend themselves. They need us to do it for them. That’s what Signature Sunday is all about. There are easily enough people in churches across the state on any given Sunday morning to get I-1552 on the ballot in a single day.

We’ve selected June 4 as the day to try.

This appeal is offensive and appalling on so many levels.

Young women are not threatened or harmed by the Human Rights Commission’s rule allowing transgender individuals to use a washroom or toilet designated for the gender that they identify as. Triller Haver’s fearmongering has no place in the politics of our state, and it deserves widespread condemnation and repudiation.

I-1552 needs 259,622 valid signatures to qualify for the November 2017 ballot. To offset duplicate and invalid signatures, the campaign will need to submit a minimum of 325,000 signatures total. Proponents of I-1552 have struggled to raise money so far this year and haven’t been able to mount an aggressive signature drive for their initiative. They have until July 7th to collect signatures for submission to the Secretary of State’s office.

If you see petitioners collecting for I-1552, please report your encounter to Permanent Defense. This helps us track the signature drive.