Washington

Washington currently offers broad domestic partnerships to same-sex couples and their families. On April 21, 2007, Governor Christine Gregoire signed the Domestic Partner Bill into law. The law took effect on July 23, 2007, approximately one year after the Washington State Supreme Court ruled against marriage equality for same-sex couples (and upheld a state Defense of Marriage Act passed by the legislature in 1998).
 
In 2008 and 2009, the domestic partnership law was expanded to include all of the protections and responsibilities that marriage provides at the state level.

Anti-gay opponents tried to repeal the domestic partnership law in the November 2009 election, but failed. Washington state continues its conversation about the inequalities gay couples and their families face on its path to ending the exclusion of gay couples from marriage.
 
Status: Broad Domestic Partnership, Anti-Marriage Law 
 
Groups Actively Working on Marriage
 
Equal Rights Washington: Washington's statewide lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) civil rights and advocacy organization  

Blog Posts Related to Washington

Domestic partnership signature case back in Washington court

Anti-gay opponents of the state's expanded domestic partnership law are going back to court to try to block the release of names of people who wanted the law overturned.

Life, liberty, and ending inequality

Hans Johnson writes about repealing the so-called Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) because of cases like Charlene Strong's, a lesbian who was barred from seeing her dying partner in the hospital.

Marriage equality opponents vow rematch over public disclosure case

In a ruling hailed by gay activists, the U.S. Supreme Court on June 24 upheld a law that requires public disclosure of the names of people who signed a petition to put an anti-gay referendum on the ballot in Washington State.

But litigation over the domestic partnership battle may not yet be finished and may be back before the court in a year or so.

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Resources Related to Washington

Moving the Middle on Marriage:  Lessons from Maine and Washington

If advocates can successfully tap into the true spirit of marriage and convince the middle that gay couples want to get married for the same reasons that straight couples do, we think we will be able to address the middle’s remaining concerns and help move that group, and the country, more quickly towards support for marriage.

Washington Census Snapshot

Demographic and economic information about same-sex couples and same-sex couples raising children in Maine.

Let’s Talk About Marriage: Talking Points

Talking points for how to talk about ending marriage discrimination.

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