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- Jan 4, 2020
Fighting Anti-LGBTQ+ Hiring Practices By Religious Organizations
Seattle lawyer Matt Woods spent more than three years volunteering his legal skills for the Union Gospel Mission. When a full-time staff position opened up, he leapt at the chance to apply for his "dream job" working for the poor and homeless. He was initially encouraged to apply because of his outstanding job performance, but when he told the managing attorney at Union Gospel that he was in a relationship with a man, they told him not to bother submitting an application. The
- Jan 4, 2018
Washington Creates New Gender Marker Option on Birth Certificates
Washington State just took a groundbreaking step toward equality for transgender and gender non-conforming folks! The state Department of Health issued a new rule that makes it easier for you to change the gender marker on your Washington birth certificate.
Even better, starting on January 27th, Washingtonians will be able to change their gender marker to male, female, or X, which represents a gender that is not exclusively male or female (such as intersex, agender, gender
- Dec 5, 2017
Not Just Cakes: SCOTUS Hears Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission
You've likely heard a lot about cake today. That's because the U.S. Supreme Court heard a case this morning involving a same-sex couple and a Christian baker who refused to sell them a wedding cake. In short, the baker asserts that his refusal to make the couple's cake is protected by his rights to freedom of speech and freedom of religion. Or, even shorter: that his religious freedom translates into the right to discriminate. Because, truly, this is what discrimination looks
- Dec 1, 2017
Recognizing You As Who You Are: Gender Marker Changes in Washington State
Great news! The Washington Department of Health has proposed a new rule to make it easier for a person to change the gender listed on their birth certificate. It also creates a gender marker in addition to male or female. If the rule is approved, you could change your gender marker to X, which represents a gender that is not exclusively male or female (such as intersex, agender, genderfluid, genderqueer, Two Spirit, non-binary, and more). Currently, state law requires either
- Jun 5, 2017
Celebrate PRIDE at These Great Northwest Events!
Happy Pride Month! We have so much to celebrate: pride in our identities, pride in our community, and pride in all that we've accomplished together. Here is a sampling of the great events happening in the Northwest: Volunteer Park Pride Festival Saturday, June 10, 12-7pm Seattle, WA Seattle Pride March
Sunday, June 11, 11am - 4pm Seattle, WA OutSpokane Festival Saturday, June 10, from noon-10pm Spokane, WA Big Sky Pride Fest Saturday, June 17, 1-6pm Billings, MT Boise Pridef
- May 4, 2017
Trump backed down. We never will.
Yesterday we told you of our plans to challenge President Trump's Executive Order if it sanctioned discrimination against women, LGBTQ people, and religious minorities. And we weren't the only ones with plans to do so. We were part of a broad and powerful opposition that was ready to fight - and that was too much of a threat. This morning, Trump signed a "religious freedom" order that takes a significant step back from the version that leaked in February. However, though the
- May 3, 2017
We're preparing to sue the Trump Administration.
This is big. President Donald Trump is expected to sign a sweeping Executive Order tomorrow that would allow people and organizations claiming religious objections to discriminate against women, LGBTQ people, and religious minorities. And if it looks like what we expect, we're going to fight it. That's right. We're gearing up to sue the Trump Administration. Legal Voice has long been a leader in demanding equality in health care, employment, and public accommodations, and in
- Apr 26, 2017
A person's ability to donate plasma does not hinge on their gender identity.
As transgender people's dignity and safety continue to be threatened across the country—including in Washington State—we must be vigilant to uphold the legal protections we have fought so hard to win. That's why I'm thrilled to give you a final update about our advocacy for Jasmine.
You may recall Jasmine, who alleged that she was turned away from donating at CSL Plasma in Kent, Washington, in 2014 because she is transgender. Jasmine also alleged that she was told the comp
- Apr 6, 2017
Keeping Discrimination Out of the Courtroom: A Victory for Rachelle & LGBTQ Equality!
We just won justice for our client Rachelle Black! This morning, the Washington Supreme Court unanimously stood with Rachelle and affirmed what we believed all along: that the trial court disfavored Rachelle because of her sexual orientation. You may remember Rachelle's story: she filed for divorce from her husband after coming out as a lesbian. When creating a parenting plan for the couple's three children, the trial court gave primary custody of the kids to their father, de
- Sep 7, 2016
Legal Voice Heading to WA Supreme Court to Defend a Mother's Rights
For two years, Legal Voice has advocated for Rachelle Black, a mother of three who filed for divorce from her husband after realizing that she is a lesbian. The court in her divorce case not only gave primary custody of the children to the father—despite the fact that Rachelle had been a stay-at-home parent for her children's entire lives—but it also restricted her from discussing religion, homosexuality, or "other alternative lifestyle concepts" with her children. She couldn
- Mar 11, 2016
A Positive Step Forward for Rachelle
Rachelle Black filed for divorce from her husband after realizing that she is a lesbian. Shockingly, the trial court in her divorce case restricted Rachelle from discussing religion, homosexuality, or other "alternative lifestyle concepts" with her children, and from having her partner present without specific approval from the children's therapist. The court also gave primary custody of the children to the father, despite the fact that Rachelle had been a stay-at-home mother
- Feb 19, 2016
Legal Voice Joins with National Center for Lesbian Rights to Defend Washington's Anti-Discrimina
In 2013, shortly after marriage for same-sex couples became legal in Washington State, Richland florist Baronnelle Stutzman refused to sell wedding flowers to Robert Ingersoll and Curt Freed, citing her religious beliefs. The State of Washington, through the Attorney General, sued Ms. Stutzman and her business, Arlene's FLowers, for violations of the Consumer Protection Act (CPA). Mr. Ingersoll and Mr. Freed also filed a complaint for violations of Washington's Law Against Di
- Oct 30, 2015
Upholding Transgender Students' Title IX Rights
Legal Voice—along with our partners in The Alliance: State Advocates for Women’s Rights & Gender Equality, the National Women’s Law Center, and other nonprofit gender justice advocacy organizations—recently signed-on to an amicus brief filed by Columbia Law School’s Sexuality and Gender Law Clinic arguing that a high school’s refusal to allow a transgender male to use the boys’ bathroom violates Title IX. Gavin Grimm, a 16-year-old student in Gloucester County, Virginia, chal
- Sep 29, 2015
Making the Promise of Marriage Equality a Lived Reality for Washingtonians
Joe Krumbach fought for years to obtain legal recognition of his marriage to his deceased husband and decorated veteran, Jerry Hatcher. The couple had a marriage ceremony in Seattle in 2003, at a time when Washington still had an unconstitutional law on the books that purported to ban marriages of same-sex couples. Before we met Joe, he had sought unsuccessfully to have the Washington Department of Health (DOH) amend Jerry's death certificate so that it indicated the couple w
- Sep 15, 2015
The Road Ahead: Gender Equality After Hobby Lobby
Last summer, in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, the U.S. Supreme Court granted companies the right to disregard federal laws to which the companies' owners have religious objections. The ruling—which specifically allowed companies to opt out of the Affordable Care Act's contraceptive mandate—was outrageous and damaging to women and LGBTQ people. Immediately after the decision came down, Legal Voice and our partners in The Alliance: State Advocates for Women's Rights & Gender E
- Aug 24, 2015
Justice for Joe & Jerry: A Victory in the Continued Fight for LGBT Equality
Though Washington State affirmed same-sex couples’ right to marry in 2012, the ripple effect of this year’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges has resulted in significant victories for LGBT Washingtonians. Legal Voice recently secured one such victory for Joe Krumbach, who has fought since 2013 to obtain legal recognition of his marriage to his deceased husband, Jerry Hatcher. Joe and Jerry met in 1989 and soon fell in love. After 14 years together, they had a
- Aug 18, 2015
Winning Inclusive Medicaid Coverage in Washington State
Until recently, nearly all public and private health plans in Washington State excluded coverage for gender transition-related care. These unfair policies not only ignored evidence that transition-related care is medically necessary and life-saving for many transgender people, but they also ran afoul of laws that prohibit discrimination based on gender identity and sex. Legal Voice is proud to be a founding member of the Coalition for Inclusive Healthcare, which has worked to
- Jun 26, 2015
SCOTUS Brings Marriage Equality Nationwide with Monumental Decision
It has finally happened! Today, the United States Supreme Court brought marriage equality to all 50 states with a 5-4 vote. This is a remarkable victory for the LGBT community nationwide. Today's decision affirms what we've known all along: it is unconstitutional to deny the freedom to marry to same-sex couples. Together, we've worked toward this moment for a long time—going back to 2004, when we filed a lawsuit challenging Washington's ban on marriage for same-sex couples. W
- May 9, 2015
Local and National Organizations File Amicus Briefs in Marriage of Black Case
Today, the Washington Court of Appeals granted permission for local and national organizations to file amicus briefs that support Legal Voice’s arguments in In re Marriage of Black. In this case, Legal Voice and our cooperating attorneys from Perkins Coie are representing Rachelle Black in appealing decisions entered by a Pierce County court in her divorce. Ms. Black sought a divorce from her husband after realizing that she was a lesbian. Even though Ms. Black had been a sta
- Apr 27, 2015
Upholding Protections for Transgender People in Washington
This morning, in collaboration with Gender Justice—a Minnesota-based sister organization of Legal Voice and member of The Alliance—and our cooperating counsel at Keller Rohrback, we filed a lawsuit challenging CSL Plasma’s practice of prohibiting transgender individuals from donating plasma. Last June, Jasmine Kaiser went to CSL Plasma in Kent, Washington, to make a donation. The employees would not permit her to donate, and informed her that the company had placed a "lifetim