With a single statement, Washington State Senator Marko Liias showed his hand.

There would be no going back. No more hiding it. No amount of words or empty op-eds could reverse the damage done to his fellow Democrats. Party leaders may not realize it yet, but they will.

“I look forward to a future in Washington where every single family supports their trans youth to achieve the care and success that they need,” he said. “Until that day it’s up to us to make sure that there are safe places for them to learn and grow and thrive.”

In other words: He believes the government can parent better than you can.

His words came during a committee hearing on Senate Bill 5599, a proposal that prohibits shelters from notifying parents if their child runs away to seek legally protected healthcare. Under the law, that means your kid’s location, regardless of their age, would be hidden from you if they want to get an abortion, treatment for gender dysphoria, or other medical interventions allowed by state statute.

The bill has already passed in the State Senate and is nearing a vote in the House.

On the surface, Democrats in support of the bill have tried, with varying levels of success, to paint it as an innocent effort to bring LGBTQ+ teens in from the cold. To aid in those efforts, they deployed a reliable tactic: dismissing any valid criticism as fear mongering from the state’s non-existent “right-wing.”

Pushback, they claim, can only be a result of transphobia.

Without this bill, they argue, teens will be forced to live on the streets to seek the care they need. Or, worse yet, trans kids will kill themselves if the protections in SB 5599 don’t become law.

Fear mongering, indeed.

“Our hope is for every child to live in a safe and supportive home that is open to a conversation about necessary medical, behavioral, social and psychological care,” Senator Liias (D-Everett), along with Senator Joe Nguyen (D-White Center), wrote in a Seattle Times op-ed. “But that is not always the case, so it’s crucial that we make sure there are supports available and that kids aren’t left vulnerable on the streets.”

On its own, perhaps we could believe that the intent of SB 5599 is as innocent as they make it seem. But parents across Washington state are becoming wise to a worrisome trend – the government’s creeping intrusion into their homes.

From school closures to political activism in classrooms to handing medical decision-making over to minors, Democrats in Washington state have awakened the most determined force on earth: Moms and dads who want to protect their kids.

When Senate Bill 5599 first came up for a public hearing, more than 4,500 people – mostly parents opposed to the law – signed up to testify.

Here is a sampling of their words:

Despite the pushback, it seems likely SB 5599 will become law.

The real question is, how far will it go? Or rather, how far will we let it go?

In Oregon, a mom of five hoping to adopt two siblings from foster care was denied after refusing to attest that she would support gender transition care for the children if they wanted it later in life.

Mind you, both foster kids are under the age of 9.

In a federal lawsuit, Jessica Bates said an official with the Oregon Department of Human Services asked whether she would help the children access cross-sex hormones if they wanted them. When she said such treatments are against her religion, the adoption request was denied.

Oregon State Code dictates that adoptive parents must “respect, accept and support the … sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression” of any child they adopt.

The Anti-Defamation League has taken up the case and says such policies rob children of loving homes.

“Oregon’s policy makes a sweeping claim that all persons who hold certain religious beliefs – beliefs held by millions of Americans from diverse religious faiths – are categorically unfit to care for children,” Legal Counsel Johannes Widmalm-Delphonse said in a statement. “That is simply not true. Oregon is putting its political agenda above the needs of countless children who would be happy to grow up in a loving, Christian home like Jessica’s.”

It is not beyond the scope of reality to believe a similar practice could find its way to Washington, where lawmakers are just as (if not more) progressive than those in Oregon. After all, Senate Bill 5599 puts physically abusive parents on the same tier as parents who oppose gender or reproductive care for their children.

If children can be taken from an abusive home, and Democrats consider it abusive not to support a child’s desire to transition, what would stop the government from removing your child from your care if you don’t support their physical gender transformation?

It is a terrifying proposition, but we would be foolish to believe it’s off the table. Remember what Senator Liias said during public testimony for all to hear:

“I look forward to a future in Washington where every single family supports their trans youth to achieve the care and success that they need. Until that day it’s up to us to make sure that there are safe places for them to learn and grow and thrive.”

In other words – raise your kids the way we say you should, or we’ll take over.

While parents in Washington state contend with government overreach inside their homes, they’re also faced with a callous indifference for the safety of their children outside the home.

Amber Goldade, whose 12-year-old daughter Immaculee was hit and killed by a wanted felon in a stolen landscaping truck, has become an outspoken critic of Democratic policies that put the rights of criminals ahead of the safety of families.

Goldade believes her daughter would still be alive had Democrats not passed sweeping restrictions on police pursuits in 2021 – limiting chases in nearly every instance.

“I have suffered horrendously, and I will suffer until my dying day. (Immaculee) is and always will be a victim of the no-pursuit law.”

Sadly, Amber’s daughter isn’t the only child who has been killed as a result of the policy. Near Sunnyside, Washington, two foster kids on their way to a supervised visit were killed when the car they were in was hit head-on by a drunk driver. Multiple law enforcement agencies tried to stop the driver before the collision but could not pursue him because of the law.

Yet, when confronted with heartbreaking stories from parents like Amber Goldade, some progressive Democrats have shown a shocking level of disregard – even disdain – for their plight.

Senator Manka Dhingra (D-Redmond) called opposition to the current pursuit policy an “emotional reaction.”

Rep. Julia Reed (D-Seattle) said those who want the law improved are simply falling for a Republican misinformation campaign.

The conclusion is bleak: Democrats are making it harder for you to protect your kids, both inside and outside the home.

So, what is a parent like Amber to do?

There is only one thing you can do.

Fight.

Fight like parents in Tenino and Enumclaw, who are pushing back against the placement of sexually violent predators in unsecure facilities near homes and school bus stops. 

Fight like parents in Lynnwood, who protested the opening of an opioid treatment facility near a park where their kids play.

Fight like families in Seattle’s Chinatown, who successfully stopped the expansion of a homeless complex in their neighborhood amid rising crime. 

Fight like parents who packed school board meetings to get their kids back in the classroom.

Fight like the thousands of parents who signed up to testify against Senate Bill 5599 – parents who reject the narrative that they are incapable of loving their children if they won’t let them receive life altering gender interventions.

Today in Washington, there is a growing army of voters who are not only fed up with government interference in their homes, but government ineptitude outside their homes.

Democrats would be wise to watch the horizon.

I am not a parent. But over the past year I have seen the power of parents – and I cannot fathom a worse population of people to piss off.