Washington moved to close a dangerous loophole. Now there’s a constitutional showdown pitting religious freedoms against the duty to protect children
On Friday morning, May 2, 2025, supporters of Washington Senate Bill 5375 were ushered through the massive concrete arches, and up the grand staircases of the Washington State Capitol — the veins of Alaskan Tokeen marble guiding them past oil portraits and century-old busts — to the governor’s conference room on the second floor.
Inside, amid the dark wood paneling and gleaming seal of the state, Washington’s new Governor and former Attorney General Bob Ferguson addressed the small crowd of advocates, lawmakers, and child abuse survivors who had gathered behind him.
“I’m a Catholic as some of you know. I’m aware of my upbringing,” he said, before adding plainly: “For me this is very clear legislation and important legislation.”
Ferguson uncapped a blue felt-tip Paper Mate and, with the stroke…
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