The Washington state Senate passed SB 5599 on Wednesday, April 19. The bill was written to protect young people seeking gender-affirming care or reproductive health services and remove barriers to shelter for at-risk youth. The bill passed on a 27-19 vote. It could aid Trans youths leaving troubled home lives.
SB 5599 is designed to ensure that there's shelter for teens seeking care of this nature who may have also been kicked out of their homes by their parents. Currently, the law requires shelters to notify the parents of a minor within 72 hours of the minor coming to them, but this bill would allow the shelter to contact the Washington Department of Children, Youth, and Families instead.
According to the US Dept. of Housing and Urban Development, 20—40% of all unhoused youth identify as members of the LGBTQ+ community.
SB 5599 has sparked online outrage, with viral posts claiming incorrectly that the legislation would mean that Trans children would be taken from their unsupportive parents by the government, but there is nothing in the bill that addresses child custody issues.
"There's no procedure in here whatsoever that talks about taking children away," Seattle University law professor Deirdre Bowen told the Associated Press. "It is not remotely what this bill says."
"If a young person is totally estranged from their parents [or] has no meaningful relationship, we need someone to care for that child," Gov. Jay Inslee said in a press conference April 13.
After it passed in the House that same day, Republican Rep. Jim Walsh of Aberdeen released a statement opposing it that seemed to imply the bill doesn't account for a parent's tough love against the "short-term desires" of transitioning.
"Among its many flaws," the statement said, "the bill assumes [that] families that don't 'affirm' a child's short-term desires are being abusive. Wrong! Sometimes love requires to not affirm their child's whims. Loving parents guide their children as they grow. Sometimes that means saying 'no.'"
Sen. Marko Liias of Everett, who sponsored the bill, also released a statement April 13, when the bill returned to the state Senate for approval of amendments made by the House. "We know that young people experiencing homelessness are exposed to dangerous and harmful outcomes. That is why we must take every step we can to ensure their safety," the statement said.
"This legislation ensures that our trans youth have safe options and access to secure, stable shelter when they may not be welcome at home," it continued.
The statement also reminded readers that 452 anti-LGBTQ bills have been introduced across 45 states in 2023. Twenty-nine bills have passed in 14 different states.
Still, critics of the bill claimed during hearings that if Gov. Inslee signs it into law, Washington state would be legalizing "kidnapping minors" and giving them away to the "gender-affirming industry" or supporters thereof. The bill's detractors also claim that it mandates state-funded transitioning medication for all minors seeking care who have run away from home. This is simply not the case.
"We're not mandating care," said Liias, "but the protections or the provisions of the bill are designed for youth who are seeking gender-affirming care to have that housing and stability while they're seeking that care."