The local civil rights and Transgender advocacy organization Gender Justice League (GJL) announced that it will commit $100,000 in 2026 toward defeating two initiatives, IL26-001 (“the Parents’ Bill of Rights”) and IL26-638 (“Protecting Fairness in Girls’ Sports”). Both seek to restrict LGBTQIA+ rights in K-12 education and sports across the state; both are also likely poised to reach their signature-gathering targets by the January 2 deadline, qualifying them for this year’s ballot. 

IL26-001 and IL26-638 are products of the conservative organization Let’s Go Washington (LGW) and its millionaire hedge-fund founder Brian Heywood, who have also been behind other similar initiatives in the past. The initiatives have also been heavily supported by other local right-wing organizations and media personalities like Brandi Kruse and Ari Hoffman.

“We have fought hard in Washington state to give every young person, regardless of their race, class, or gender, an equal chance to succeed in school,” said GJL board member Sophia Lee, who laid out the stakes of LGW’s initiatives. “We won’t allow this one man [Brian Heywood] to use his wealth to bully the few Transgender kids brave enough to be their authentic selves in school.”

The GJL has given $80,000 in direct cash contributions and $20,000 in “in-kind staff time” to Washington Families for Freedom (WFF), which has been at the forefront of the opposition to LGW’s signature-gathering efforts. In a statement, GJL Executive Director Danni Askini explained the group’s motivations: “When politicians and wealthy ideologues try to bully kids out of public life — out of classrooms, sports teams, and our community — we meet them with organization, love, and a relentless defense of [their] right to exist.”  

The organization also framed the initiatives in the broader context of the national political discourse on Transgender issues, particularly around Trans youth, and cited how advocates have been targeted and labeled as extremists by the Trump administration. US Attorney General Pam Bondi, in a Dec. 4 memo, instructed the FBI to crack down on what it deems “domestic terrorists,” including those that practice “ radical gender ideology .” 

The GJL was also part of a list of “Antifa” organizations in Washington state, given by Brandi Kruse to FBI Director Kash Patel after her visit, alongside others, with President Trump at the White House in late October.