Grab a cup of coffee and catch up on what you may have missed from [un]Divided this week.
Super Bowl Sunday
Just for the hell of it: Chiefs 27, Eagles 13. If I’m right, you owe me $1,000,000 ... each!
What’s your go-to Super Bowl snack? I’m trying to lose weight, but if I weren’t seven-layer dip is my hands down favorite.
Speaking of chips...
It's crunch time in Olympia.
If bills don’t progress before Friday, they are all but dead this session (lawmakers always have tricks to revive them, but we can't count on that).
That means do or die for all the things we’ve been discussing since January. Here are the big ones:
Fixing the broken police pursuit law
Best solution: Passing a bipartisan proposal (SB 5352/HB 1363) that would give law enforcement officers more flexibility to rely on their training to determine whether a pursuit is in the best interest of public safety. Common sense.
Ensuring drug possession remains a crime by fixing the Blake decision
Best solution: Passing a bipartisan bill (SB 5467) that makes personal drug possession a gross misdemeanor and prioritizes treatment options for offenders. Individuals who refuse to complete mandated treatment would spend a minimum of 45 days in jail. Common sense.
Keeping the government out of your relationship with your kids
Best solution: Defeating a Democrat-led proposal (SB 5599) that would allow children to run away from home for the purpose of seeking protected health care, such as abortions or certain types of gender treatment. Shelters would be prohibited under law from calling a child's parents if they show up for those reasons.
Protecting our communities by halting the transfer of convicted sex offenders from McNeil Island.
Best solution: Passing bipartisan proposals (HB 1813/HB 1734) that would put an immediate halt on moving convicted sex offenders into less-secure community housing and improve the notification process for residents living in an area where sex offenders could be placed. Common sense.
In case you want to learn more about those proposals, I spoke with State Reps. Dan Griffey and Travis Couture. Listen here.
Am I missing anything else we need to bird dog this week?
If you watch one thing from unDivided this week...
Make it the Wednesday episode, which subscribers so generously asked to be made public. The paywall on that episode has been lifted, so anyone can view it.
In it, I give a detailed breakdown of SB 5599, which I outlined briefly above. While there is a long list of problems with the bill, the central issue at play is the government's repeated efforts to take over the responsibility of parenting. The bill is also highly confusing, pointing to a definition of "protected health care" that includes things minors currently can't get on their own without parental consent in Washington state (like gender reassignment surgery). If the bill's sponsors don't intend to suggest that minors can run away from home to get such surgeries, then they need to clarify the bill ASAP.
Still, even the tamest reading of the bill is problematic. While protecting kids from abusive homes is non-controversial, suggesting a parent is abusive for not wanting their child to get, for example, hormone therapy, is a huge stretch. Parents have a right to parent their kids, period. If you haven't seen it yet, watch what the bill's key sponsor, Senator Marko Liias said about it (but be warned, you may feel the sudden urge to smash your screen into a million pieces).
Speaking of Senator Liias, take the time to call or email his office to voice your concerns about SB 5599. Be polite and speak from the heart as a parent.
Email: [email protected]
Office Phone: 360-786-7640
Housekeeping
None! Have a great Sunday and I'll see you tomorrow.
