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

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

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

We have exciting news! This morning The Alliance filed an amicus curiae brief in the United States Supreme Court in the marriage equality cases. As legal organizations based in a variety of states - all working toward social, economic, and legal equality for women and LGBT people - we have seen first-hand how the path toward the freedom to marry has differed drastically depending on where couples live. Our brief was written by cooperating counsel Katie O'Sullivan, David Perez