Tag: washington

Washington therapist reveals how she was told to ‘throw out all her training’ and give ‘gender affirming care’ to abused, autistic, suicidal 13-YEAR-OLD

A Washington therapist has revealed how she was told to ‘throw out’ all of her medical training and give ‘gender affirming care’ to an abused, autistic, and suicidal 13-year-old.  

Tamara Pietzke, 36, quit the profession after she was reprimanded by her superiors for not immediately signing off on children’s requests for puberty blockers and sex change surgeries. 

Some of the kids who wanted to be transgender had a multitude of issues – including physical and mental abuse, raging anxiety, depression, and suicidal thoughts. 

Despite this, she was shunned into quickly signing papers to give them life-changing medication – and when she brought up her concerns, she was accused of being prejudiced against trans kids, reports The Free Press.  

Mom-of-three Pietzke decided to become a therapist in her 20s, and she graduated from the University of Washington with a master’s in social work in 2012. 

Pietzke has worked with hundreds of clients in Puget Sound, Washington, over the last decade – but she quit her job in January because she was told to ‘throw out’ her training if a young person had gender dysphoria.

Instead of assessing them properly, she was told to just approve their medical transition. 

Writing in The Free Press, the therapist revealed: ‘I was getting the message from my supervisors that when a young person I was seeing expressed discomfort with their gender—the diagnostic term is gender dysphoria—I should throw out all my training.

‘No matter the patient’s history or other mental health conditions that could be complicating the situation, I was simply to affirm that the patient was transgender, and even approve the start of a medical transition.’ 

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Washington State Democrats: Using Ammo A ‘Privilege’ That Needs To Be Taxed

The first month of the Washington Legislature’s 2024 session is ending with a slew of Democrat-backed gun control proposals, including a new measure to tax people who have the “privilege” of using ammunition.

House Bill 2238, sponsored by Democratic state Reps. My-Linh Thai and Liz Berry, would create an 11 percent tax on the retail sale of ammunition across the state in addition to all existing federal, state, and local sale and use taxes, with the exception of sales to governments for the purposes of supplying law enforcement agencies.

Instead of recognizing the purchase of ammunition as an integral part of the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms, the language of the bill classifies it as a “privilege.”

“A use tax is levied on every person in this state for the privilege of using ammunition as a consumer at the rate of 11 percent of the selling price,” the bill reads.

The stated reason behind the proposal is to help reduce “gun violence,” or deaths involving guns—most of which are suicides.

“Gun violence remains a persistent health and safety threat for people across our state,” the bill’s authors wrote, admitting that nearly seven out of every 10 gun deaths in Washington are suicides..

“Data from the Washington office of firearm safety and violence prevention show that, in 2021, 69 percent of all firearm-related deaths were suicides,” they wrote.

Revenue from the proposed tax would go to funding suicide prevention programs, as well as programs aimed to reduce “firearm-related domestic violence.”

Ms. Berry, a gun control advocate who previously worked for former Rep. Gabby Giffords as her legislative director when the Democrat congresswoman was shot in the head in Tucson in 2011, also co-sponsored at least five other measures targeting guns.

Those proposals include House Bill 1902, which would apply requirements similar to those for a licensed concealed handgun carrier to all potential gun buyers in Washington. In addition to live-fire training, it would make fingerprinting a mandatory prerequisite to all Washington residents who wish to obtain a gun permit.

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‘What could you learn from a sex offender?’ Lawmaker skeptical about expanding state advisory board to include past offenders

Lawmakers in Washington state faced off at a recent public hearing over whether a sex offense advisory board should be expanded to include a member who actually served jail time for committing a sex offense. Though many advocated the benefits of including diverse viewpoints, others said the expansion would destroy the board’s purpose.

Democratic lawmakers in Washington introduced HB 2177, which would add four members — including one who served jail time for being a sex offender — to the state’s Sex Offender Policy Board (“SOPB”). The statute would also rename the board to the “Sex Offense Policy Board” in a move to use first-person language and would increase the size of the body from 13 to 17 members. The new board members would include one member of a sex offender advocacy group, one member of a Native American tribe, one victim of a sex offense, and one “representative with lived experience with incarceration for a sex offense.” The bill would also appropriate funds for board training and team-building.

The board at issue is an independent entity staffed by the Sentencing Guideline Commission that advises the governor and undertakes projects to assist policymakers with legislation on sex offenses.

At a public hearing held by the Washington State House Committee on Safety and Justice on Jan. 16, Rep. Tarra Simmons (D), who is a member of the Sentencing Guidelines Commission and a co-sponsor of the bill, spoke in support of HB 2177.

“We do better when we have a diverse legislature,” Simmons said, then explained that HB 2177 contains recommendations that current board members have raised.

Simmons directly addressed the opposition to including convicted sex offenders on the advisory board. While past offenders may be subject to “a stigma,” Simmons said, “they have invaluable information to share that can really guide this board.”

Simmons said the same is true for those with lived experience of being sexually assaulted or abused — who are not currently on the board, but would be included if HB 2177 were to pass. Simmons also noted that “a lot of the members are not showing up for most of the meetings,” and said that she hopes the team-building efforts in HB 2177 would encourage more active participation to guide the legislature.

Whitney Hunt, another member of the board since 2021, also spoke in support of HB 2177 and said it “incorporates feedback consistently heard by SOPB,” and “aligns with best practices.” Hunt said that there has been a “consistent desire” to add the perspectives of those with lived experiences.

Attorney Brad Meryhew, who has served as SOPB chair since its inception in 2008, testified in emphatic support of HB 2177. Meryhew said that the voices of all stakeholders — including victims and offenders — should be heard. Meryhew noted that Native American tribes have been “impacted hugely in the last several decades,” but that, “their voice at our table has been relatively quiet.”

“Likewise, we see very credible organizations working with those who are affected by these policies,” Meryhew continued, explaining that some registered sex offenders have become “thoughtful, effective advocates for their position” who bring valuable empirically based discussion to policy discussions. Meryhew also told the panel that he attended a popular and useful sex offender management conference that included the kind of diversity HB 2177 would implement.

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Ultra woke Washington state Democrats are slammed for trying to add a sex offender to guide sentencing policy advisory board for their ‘lived experiences’ and advocate for sick perps

Progressive Democrats in Washington state are in hot water after advocating to add a convicted sex offender to a board that guides sentencing for such crimes.

Democrats in the state legislature introduced a bill earlier this month that would rename the ‘Sex Offender Policy Board’ to the ‘Sex Offense Policy Board,’ and subsequently add a convicted convicted offender to the group.

The offender would contribute ‘lived experiences’ that supporters of the bill call ‘invaluable.’

The bill reads: ‘One representative with lived experience with incarceration for a sex offense appointed by the chair of the sex offense policy board and approved by a majority vote of the board’s voting membership’ will have a spot on the board.

Conservative radio host Jason Rantz noted the bill would allow for a Level Three offender – the most dangerous sort – to sit on the board.

Republican state Rep. Dan Griffey also blasted the bill and questioned why there is a need for an ‘advocate’ for sex offenders, according to Fox News Digital.  

The sex offender would be on the board along with at least one victim of a sex crime, who would also serve in a newly established seat on the board.

A Democrat sponsoring the bill, State Representative Tarra Simmons, has advocated for victims to sit on the board beside offenders. Simmons is herself a convicted criminal who has served time for three felony convictions for possession of controlled substances and theft.

Simmons says the legislature should be diverse, which, in her opinion, includes ex-convicts.

‘I’m proud to be here. I think I bring some lived experience that was missing from here,’ she said at a recent hearing.

‘While some people may have a stigma for people who have committed a sex offense, I think they have invaluable information to share that can really guide this board.’ 

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CDC Finds Youth Marijuana Use Fell In Washington State’s Largest County After Adult-Use Legalization

Marijuana use among teens in Washington State’s most populous county declined after legalization of cannabis for adults, according to a new federal study published on Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The prevalence of current and frequent use fell significantly among youth in grades 8, 10 and 12 between 2008 and 2021.

According to the study, published in CDC’s latest Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, current and frequent use of marijuana among teens in King County has fallen significantly since state voters legalized adult-use cannabis by initiative in November 2012.

Researchers said legalization and related regulations and age controls could have have fueled the trend by making marijuana harder for teens to access, though they also said the COVID pandemic may have contributed to more recent declines.

Between 2008 and 2021, current use—defined as having used marijuana at least once in the past month—fell from highs of 20.4 percent among males (in 2010) and 15.5 percent among females (in 2012) down to 7.7 percent and 9.0 percent, respectively, in 2021.

“The legalization of nonmedical cannabis for adults aged ≥21 years in Washington with licensed dispensaries requiring proof of age might have affected availability of cannabis to younger persons as well as their opportunities to engage in its use,” the CDC report says. “This, in turn, might have had an impact on use prevalence.”

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After Several Failed Efforts, Washington Lawmakers Introduce New Bill To Legalize Home Marijuana Cultivation

Washington State lawmakers are again trying to allow adults in the state to grow their own marijuana, having introduced a new bill that would allow the cultivation of up to six plants at home.

Washington voters legalized marijuana through a ballot measure in 2012, but the law still makes it a felony for anyone but medical patients to grow the plant. And though several bills have been introduced to allow home cultivation over the years—stretching back to 2015—so far each has failed to find traction.

The latest bill, HB 2194, is an update to a homegrow proposal introduced last year, which passed out of one House committee before being pulled from consideration in a second committee. In addition to the six-plant-per-adult limit, it would cap the total number of plants grown by any one household at 15.

Notwithstanding the state’s personal possession limit of one ounce of marijuana flower, adults would also be able to keep the cannabis produced by their legal plants.

“I just see it as a fundamentally illogical thing that we’re doing,” lead sponsor Rep. Shelley Kloba (D) told Marijuana Moment. “We’ve made it criminal to grow a plant whose products you can walk into a retail store and purchase.”

She noted that beer and wine are also both legal, “and those things are legal to produce in your home as a hobbyist. It doesn’t make sense that you can’t do that with cannabis.”

Under Kloba’s plan, it would be a civil infraction for an individual to grow between six and 15 plants, while growing 16 or more plants would be a class C felony—the current penalty for growing any marijuana at home. The felony charge carries a maximum five years imprisonment and up to a $10,000 fine.

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Washington Bill Would Roll Back New Marijuana-Related Employment Protections For Drug Treatment Professionals

As a new law in Washington State took effect this week to shield most job applicants who legally use cannabis from facing employment discrimination during the hiring process, two lawmakers have filed legislation to roll back those protections for workers in the drug treatment industry.

HB 2047, sponsored by Reps. Tom Dent (R) and Lauren Davis (D), would add to the new law’s list of exemptions, which already include law enforcement, jobs requiring a federal background investigation or security clearance, fire departments, first responders, safety-sensitive positions, corrections officers and those in the airline or aerospace industries.

Specifically, the bill would allow employers to deny people who test positive for cannabis a position “as a substance use disorder professional or trainee, or any position as a health care professional licensed or certified…where the person will be providing services directly to clients or patients receiving treatment for substance use disorder.”

While the legislation would not require employers to screen job applicants for marijuana, they would no longer be subject to the newly effective provision making it “unlawful for an employer to discriminate against a person in the initial hiring for employment if the discrimination is based upon” the use of marijuana off the job and away from the workplace or a positive drug test for cannabis metabolites.

Notably, the new anti-discrimination cannabis law applies only to job applicants. Employers can still maintain drug-free workplaces or prohibit the use of cannabis by workers after they’re hired.

Davis, who’s long said she supports an end to criminal cannabis prohibition but has concerns about the dangers of legalization, filed two marijuana-related bills in 2023 during the first part of the two-year session. One, HB 1641, would place various restrictions on marijuana products with more than 35 percent total THC, including banning advertising and prohibiting sales of the products to people under 25. The other, HB 1642, would ban the production and sale of concentrates with more than 35 percent THC unless the products were intended for medical patients.

In 2020, she sponsored legislation that would have banned all concentrates with more than 10 percent THC.

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Over 140 Mail-in Ballots Discovered from Inactive Mailboxes Across Washington State

Washington county election officials reported the retrieval of over 140 ballots from inactive mailboxes across the state. This incident illuminated critical postal service mishaps just as the nation gears up for the upcoming 2024 elections.

The ballots were found after the November 7 election when vigilant voters who hadn’t seen updates on the status of their ballots raised concerns, King5 reported.

Officials reported finding 87 ballots in King County, 37 in Pierce County, with smaller counts in Clark and Thurston counties.

A concerted effort by election officials confirmed that all but one of these ballots were validly cast for the November 7th elections. Officials emphasized that the count reportedly did not affect the outcome of any races.

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Washington State Republican Party Files Formal Ethics Complaint Against WA Secretary of State Hobbs for Using Public Funds to Surveil and Censor Political Opposition

Today the Washington State Republican Party (WSRP) filed a formal ethics complaint with the Washington State Ethics Board against Secretary of State Steve Hobbs. A big thank you to WSRP Chairman Jim Walsh for initiating the complaint and attorney K. Garl Long, Long Law office, for writing and filing the complaint.

After the complaint was filed the WSRP issued a press release here.

Full Complaint, Exhibits, and Footnotes here:

Summary of Complaint: Secretary of State Hobbs (“Secretary Hobbs”) is using public funds to pay an offshore artificial intelligence company to surveil voters. Speech objectionable to Secretary Hobbs is “fact-checked,” reported as a “threat,” and suppressed. It is unethical and illegal to use public funds to aid Secretary Hobbs and/or his political party in suppressing opposition views. Such government censorship is a spreading cancer in our society.1

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THE “TERRORIST,” THE RAPIST, AND ME

THE FBI STING had elements of a B-movie production. Federal agents used a car chop shop in Seattle that was an FBI front, placed a prayer rug and a copy of the Quran inside the office, and designated it the scene for the final bust. The FBI’s informant was a registered sex offender named Robert Childs, who had told agents that his friend Abu Khalid Abdul-Latif had a vague plan for a terrorist attack on a military base in Washington state. The FBI furnished Childs with weapons, including assault rifles and grenades.

At the chop shop, Childs met with Abdul-Latif and his friend Walli Mujahidh, who had a mental illness, and showed them the weapons he’d acquired for their supposed attack. The guns and grenades had been disabled, and hidden FBI cameras captured Abdul-Latif and Mujahidh holding rifles, even though neither man knew how to use them. “He didn’t even understand how to work the breech,” Childs would later tell me, referring to Abdul-Latif’s inability to load the firearm.

Suddenly, FBI agents, dressed in tactical uniforms, tossed in a smoke grenade and charged toward the men; they handcuffed Childs as part of the show.

“When the feds rushed in, I knew it was Robert Childs,” Abdul-Latif later told me. “I knew he’d set us up.” As Abdul-Latif saw it, Childs had manipulated and betrayed him for money. The FBI, meanwhile, described Childs as valiant. “But for the courage of the cooperating witness, and the efforts of multiple agencies working long and intense hours, the subjects might have been able to carry out their brutal plan,” Laura Laughlin, then the FBI’s special agent-in-charge in Seattle, said in a 2011 press release. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer later described Childs as “the unlikely hero” of the bust.

After years of talking to both men and sorting through conflicting claims, I can finally explain the origins of this high-profile case that the FBI and the Justice Department have misrepresented to the public and the courts. The FBI hired a convicted sex offender as an informant, even as a rape kit with his DNA sat untested on a shelf. They paid him $90,000 to set up his friend and his friend’s mentally ill buddy in a terrorism plot concocted from nothing more than an over-the-top statement by Abdul-Latif, landing both Abdul-Latif and Mujahidh in prison. A decade later, Childs is in prison as well, serving a life sentence for the crime documented by the rape kit that the Seattle Police Department left untested for 13 years.

Last winter, with nothing left to lose, Childs contacted Abdul-Latif and me to come clean about the FBI terrorism sting he’d helped engineer.

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