You know what we hear in these speeches?
We hear Legislators who actually LISTENED to what the parents, their constituents, were saying. That's who they are in Olympia to represent after all- not the lobbyists, not the special interest groups, not the people who claim to be "experts" on what is best for other people's children.
ESSB 5395 was passed despite an outstanding amount of opposition from parents who were simply acting out of concern for their children and what they saw as a too much, too fast approach to one of the most sensitive and important topics surrounding their child's development. It should have never passed.
Please REJECT R90, and lets work together next year to come up with a better, more equitable solution that serves ALL families in Washington.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IuUJk6qMJn8&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR3R-a2rUQEDxm9oZEnmAU_K4pTH5Tqwzd7WNS5jOGJgezW_7_QCkfq-8tU
Rep. Jenny Graham (6th District)
“The one good thing that is coming out of this is that the parents are paying attention and they are going to be sending a very loud and clear message as they have been this entire time. These are our children, they don’t belong to the government, they don’t belong to the schools. These are our children and we decide what they will or will not learn.”
Rep. Vicki Kraft (17th District)
“I have received 4826 emails opposing this policy and legislation since session started. I’ve received over 1,000 emails just tonight. Why? Because parents are very concerned with this curriculum and what potentially will happen if this bill passes.”
Rep. Matt Boehnke (8th District)
“My phone has been blowing up since midnight about everything that we’re talking about. We have people fired up across the state and they are fired up, they’re passionate. They want us to listen to their voice.
Rep. Michelle Caldier (26th District)
“While we are here on the floor, Planned Parenthood says, “go play bingo with us.” This was off of Facebook. And, the center circle is anything that the good woman from the seventeenth says that, you get a free spot for that. There’s something wrong here madam Speaker, this isn’t a funny situation.”
Rep. Kelly Chambers (25th District)
It’s not a joke. It’s not a joke to the constituents that we serve. It’s not a joke to the families that have contacted us over the last 50 days . It may be a joke to the folks that fill the front row by making a bingo game out of it and mocking this debate, but it’s not a joke to the families that we serve. This is very serious and if the families in Washington were supporting this they would be down here supporting this. They’re not. I’m going to be opposed to it tonight.”
Rep. Chris Gildon (25th District) “I’ve learned a lot of things throughout the course of this debate and I’d just like to share some of them with you and quite honestly I’m a little taken aback by some of the things that I’ve learned. But, I just want to go down a few of those things and share with you. So I’ve learned Madam Speaker that this instruction is important, but it’s not important enough to be reviewed by a panel of qualified experts. I’ve learned that this instruction is important but it’s not important enough to be translated into different languages so parents across our state can read and understand it. I’ve learned that this education is important but it’s not important enough to post the learning objectives on the school district’s webpage. I’ve learned that this instruction is important but it’s not important enough to get periodic feedback from parents and community members across the state. I’ve learned that students are mature enough to learn about all aspects of sexual behavior. But they are not mature enough to learn about the realities of abortion.”
Rep. Norma Smith (10th District)
“All around Washington State are people who believe that if we’re going to look at the whole child, we have to look at their emotional well-being, they physical well-being, their intellectual well being, and their spiritual well-being Mr. Speaker. We know here, we don’t do that very well.”
Rep. Mike Steele (12th District)
I’m not sure why we’re rushing to remove the innocence from our youth. They put so much on them already madam Speaker. I don’t know why we think it’s appropriate to put more, put such weight upon their backs at such young ages. This is heavy, heavy material Madam speaker. I am disappointed that we don’t take into account the fact that we want to maintain the innocence of our youth.”
Rep. Dan Griffey (35th District)
“Our kids grow up way too fast Madam Speaker, way too fast. I got a little one this tall. He’s starting to ask questions and the psychologist, the child psychologist that I talked to tell me that when they ask the questions, then you start answering the questions.”
Rep. Chris Corry (14th District)
“I’ve had conversations with my kids. I’m a parent of four children, and I know what’s appropriate for them. And, I can address a lot of our consent and safe relationship concerns in very simple conversations that parents across Washington state are already having. That we don’t need the school district or the government to come in and tell you about.”
Rep. Brandon Vick (18th District)
“We are trying to address a problem, that isn’t a problem. We have school districts around this state, we have a school district in the 18th legislative district that have consulted with their constituents, that have talked about this. They haven’t buried their heads in the sand. They haven’t said that sexual issues are not a problem. They haven’t said that sex-ed should go away, but what they ‘ve said in consultation with their constituents at the local level is that you, state of Washington, not you, but you state of Washington do not have an appropriate curriculum for our district. What you have goes too far. What you have is not what we want, what you have is not what our parents want, and so we have to do something else. This bill says you guys aren’t right. Your constituents aren’t right, your opinions on what’s appropriate for your students aren’t right. We’re gonna take that away.”
Rep. Jim Walsh (19th District)
“This bill chips away, chips and chips and chips at the foundation of the family. And, the family, the nuclear family is the foundational organizing unit of our society and our culture.”
Rep. Chris Corry (14th District)
“We really need to think about our decisions here, because they are gonna have a lasting impact on the state of Washington, and I am hopeful that we can see it tonight to maybe say no. There’s clearly still some problems, lets take this down, lets work it out, and in the next couple of days come back and have unanimous on something we can all agree on. But, tonight is not that night. I urge a no to protect our kids.”
