SEATTLE — On Thursday, the Washington state House speaker and its Senate majority leader, who are likely the country’s first openly gay duo leading a state capital’s legislative bodies, met with progressive campaigners. Their goal was to strategize against two conservative-backed ballot initiatives seeking to impose new regulations on transgender children in schools and sports.
The campaign aims to persuade voters beyond Seattle’s progressive areas by emphasizing themes of privacy, liberty, and acceptance.
On Friday, Washington’s LGBTQ+ leaders considered engaging with an even tougher audience: citizens of Egypt and Iran. These countries, where homosexuality is criminalized, found their national teams paired in the World Cup’s only official “Pride Match” due to a scheduling coincidence.
Seattle’s World Cup organizing committee intended to highlight the city’s inclusivity with the June 26 game. However, a random draw matched two of the most repressive states toward sexual minorities. While FIFA has banned the prerevolutionary flag of Iran under its rules against political symbols, it has allowed rainbow flags despite opposition from Iranian and Egyptian soccer officials.
“How many opportunities do you have to get positive messages about happy queer people beamed into Iran and Egypt?” Senate Majority Leader Jamie Pedersen remarked. “I don’t think there’s any way for viewers to miss the large contingent of rainbow flags waving in the stands.”
Pedersen and state House Speaker Laurie Jinkins have been acquainted since the 1990s when they collaborated on an unsuccessful campaign for a statewide nondiscrimination law. Both were later elected to the legislature, with Jinkins representing Tacoma and Pedersen from a Seattle district including Capitol Hill, the historical center of gay power. They ascended to lead Democratic majorities in their chambers, becoming friends along the way, attending each other’s marriages, and raising children alongside.
Currently, they are working with the No Hate in WA State campaign to oppose two initiatives on the November ballot. These initiatives were not taken up in their legislative chambers. One initiative, considered a parents-rights measure, would allow parents to opt out of classes about sexual education or gender diversity and require educators to notify parents if their children seek medical attention. The other initiative would prohibit “biologically male students from competing with and against female students” in interscholastic sports and require girls to undergo medical exams to confirm their biological sex.
Pedersen and Jinkins plan to build on the coalition that helped secure gay and lesbian rights in previous ballots. They first achieved this by establishing a domestic-partnership regime in 2009 and then passing a same-sex marriage law three years later, despite facing a citizen’s veto threat. (Let’s Go Washington, the committee supporting the transgender-related initiatives, did not respond to a request for comment.)
“In the 1980s and 1990s, many people didn’t know anyone who was gay or lesbian. Once they realized they did, opinions shifted dramatically,” Jinkins noted. “It prevented stereotypes from defining us.”
In interviews Friday, both leaders viewed the unusual Pride matchup, with potential friction among soccer fans in Seattle, as a positive development for the LGBTQ+ community.
“The World Cup offers exposure to different communities,” Jinkins said. “It’s not just Iranian and Egyptian fans learning about Pride; it’s also us learning about Iranian and Egyptian culture and perspectives.”
Neither leader planned to attend the match despite receiving invitations. Jinkins intended to visit a “fan zone” watch party organized by the Puyallup Tribe of Indians in her Tacoma district. Pedersen, who admits he’s “not a sports fan,” planned to attend a Trans Pride event in Capitol Hill, the historic heart of gay Seattle, while campaigning for reelection against a left-wing challenger.
“I’d feel bad taking a ticket when demand is high,” Pedersen said. “Those who truly enjoy it should experience it, not me.”
