“It’s an aim to pit neighbor against neighbor, and it’s reminiscent of the Stasi in East Germany during the Cold War. It’s un-American and Unconstitutional.”
– Jim Walsh, WAGOP Chairman

One of the most hateful features in Washington State comes in the guise of being anti-hate. A new Washington law enables residents to report alleged “hate crimes” or “bias incidents” to the state government through a hotline, which offers “support,” referrals, counseling, and – most concerningly – creates a database of incidents that could be used against anyone who doesn’t fall in line with woke ideology. In an Orwellian move, hate is now being weaponized to push Wokeness.

With support from the most Leftist organizations in our state, Senate Bill 5427 was passed in Washington’s 2024 Legislative Session and went into effect on January 1, 2025, in three counties: King, Clark, and Spokane. It will be expanded statewide by 2027. The Attorney General’s Office will publish an annual “hate crimes and bias incidents” report in Washington, and the hotline will pass along information to law enforcement regarding potential crimes. Other incidents of “bias and hate” that are not considered crimes will be referred to support services. The original bill offered a $2,000 “reward” to victims of alleged hate crimes, but thankfully that provision was removed from the legislation.

The state’s current definition of a hate crime, as established in SB 5247, is “a person’s hostile expression of animus toward another person, relating to the other person’s actual or perceived race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender expression or identity, or mental, physical, or sensory disability.” Bias incidents are noncriminal versions of a hate crime, specifically defined as “acts of prejudice that are not criminal in nature and do not involve violence, threats, or property damage. “

As one critic correctly note, “We cannot define crimes based on ‘perception.’ This would be a constantly moving target and would differ for each individual.” Washington’s definition of a hate crime is inherently flawed. Creating a hotline for anyone to report perceived slights to their race, “gender expression,” or sexual orientation will be a disaster.

Pete Serrano, Mayor of Pasco and a recent candidate for WA Attorney General, said: “This is so open-ended that there’s really no clarification for the standard for the bias, the legal standard that they’ve defined is whether or not a reasonable person in that category would likely be offended.”

This bill essentially makes it a crime to offend someone – whether you intend to or not. Accidentally calling a biological female who thinks she is a man by female pronouns could get you reported to the hate crime hotline. Requesting that a man leave the women’s restroom could be seen as a “hostile expression of animus” toward someone for their “gender expression,” thus qualifying as a hate crime.

Furthermore, Christians are called to love all people, but we are not called to love all ideas, nor actions, nor political agendas. We love a person’s essence (esse in Latin, being, who they are as created in the immortal image of God). We are not necessarily to love a person’s function (actions, ideas, worldview, what a person does). We have a “soft heart” toward all people qua people, but we have a “hard head” toward ideas and actions. We are called to speak “the truth in love” (Eph 4:15), and that may engender resistance and offense.

Bills like these remind us why it is so essential for conservatives all across Washington to engage in state politics and speak out against dangerous legislation. Please consider joining our team of DEFENDERS to advocate for your values in the public square and beyond. We need your help to create positive, lasting change in our state!

You can learn more about FPIW’s policy views in our Issues Booklet, which can be found here.

• Want to Change Our Culture? 500,000 DEFENDER Prayer Warriors Are Needed.
• Want to be Heard in Olympia? 200,000 DEFENDER Activists for Political Power Are Needed.
• Want to Change Washington’s Laws? 450,000 DEFENDER Signers of Initiatives & Referendums Are Needed.
• Want Lasting Change? 1.7 Million DEFENDER Voters for Conservative Candidates Are Needed.

Join us! Please sign up to become a DEFENDER today.

Sponsored by: FPIW Action • PO Box 5298 Lynnwood, WA 98046-5298 • 425-608-0242