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Bathroom-rights initiative faces new attack

Supporters of Initiative 1515 want businesses to control who can use public restrooms. They want to change current Washington law so that transgender people can be required to use only the restroom that goes with their biological gender.

But today supporters of transgender rights launched their "No on 1515" campaign.

A 16-year-old transgender woman explained what would happen to her if the initiative passed. For safety, Devin used only her first name.

“It would force me to choose between holding it in for hours or searching for a safe place to go, or putting myself at risk in a men's room," she said.

On the other side, Angela Connelly is one of the sponsors of 1515. “We want safety. We want safety, we want safety for every human person,” she said.

“We actually don't want men to go to the little girls’ bathroom,” said Seth Kirby, chair of the "No on 1515" campaign. “The reality is that transgender women are women, transgender girls are girls, transgender men like me are men, transgender boys are boys, and we need to use the restrooms and the facilities that we identify with just like everyone else is able to do.”

But Connelly has compiled a list of unsafe incidents around the country -- at least two here in Washington.

“Have violated, have attacked, have put on a pink wig.” She acknowledged that the incidents do not involve transgender women. “No, but they are going by the rules of the HRC (Human Rights Commission), access to little girls."

Devin's father, Dean, worries about his daughter’s safety if 1515 passes and forces her to use the men's room.

“Which would put her at risk of getting harassed, attacked or sexually assaulted,” he said.

Connelly said signature-gathering is going well to get I-1515 on the November ballot.