Andersen v. King County
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''Andersen v. King County'', 138 P.3d 963 (Wash. 2006), formerly ''Andersen v. Sims'', is a Washington Supreme Court case in which eight
lesbian A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...
and gay couples sued
King County King County is located in the U.S. state of Washington. The population was 2,269,675 in the 2020 census, making it the most populous county in Washington, and the 13th-most populous in the United States. The county seat is Seattle, also the st ...
and the
state of Washington Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first U.S. president—the state was formed from the western part of the Washington ...
for denying them marriage licenses under the state's 1998 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which defined marriage as between a man and a woman. The court ruled that banning same-sex marriage is constitutional since the legislature could reasonably believe it furthers the government interest in promoting procreation. The state enacted same-sex marriage in 2012. Opponents forced a referendum on the issue, and voters approved the legislation on November 6.


Lower court decisions

In the case, King County Superior Court Judge William L. Downing ruled that the state law prohibiting same-sex marriages, or DOMA, was unconstitutional, finding for the plaintiffs on August 4, 2004. The judge ruled that restricting the institution of marriage to opposite sex couples "is not rationally related to any legitimate or compelling state interest." The ruling was appealed to the state Supreme Court.


Appeal

In 2005, the ''Andersen v. Sims'' case was consolidated with ''Castle v. State'', another case that was appealed to the Washington Supreme Court from a lower court in Thurston County. The combined cases were filed under ''Andersen v. King County'' and Washington Supreme Court heard oral argument on March 8, 2005. On July 26, 2006, the court's ruled in a 5–4 decision that the state Defense of Marriage Act was constitutional. The majority ruled that the state DOMA does not violate the state's constitution.


Decision

In the plurality opinion signed by Justices
Gerry L. Alexander Gerry L. Alexander (born April 28, 1936) is the former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the U.S. state of Washington. He was elected to the court in 1994 and re-elected in 2000. Following this election, his colleagues elected him to a fou ...
and Charles W. Johnson, Justice
Barbara Madsen Barbara Madsen (born 1952) is an American jurist and a current Associate justice, Associate Justice of the Washington Supreme Court. She joined the court in 1993 as the first woman to be popularly elected to the Court in Washington (U.S. state), ...
wrote that "Under this standard, DOMA is constitutional because the legislature was entitled to believe that limiting marriage to opposite-sex couples furthers procreation, essential to the survival of the human race, and furthers the well-being of children by encouraging families where children are reared in homes headed by the children's biological parents." Justice
Gerry L. Alexander Gerry L. Alexander (born April 28, 1936) is the former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the U.S. state of Washington. He was elected to the court in 1994 and re-elected in 2000. Following this election, his colleagues elected him to a fou ...
issued a separate concurring opinion, emphasizing the possibility that the legislature or people could expand the definition of marriage in the state. Justice James M. Johnson also issued a separate opinion, co-signed by Justice
Richard B. Sanders Richard B. Sanders is a former justice of the Washington Supreme Court. Early life and education Richard Sanders attended Highline High School. In school, he played horn in the band and was a member of the debate team. He graduated from the Unive ...
, which concurred in the judgment only and suggested that the lower court rulings that held DOMA unconstitutional were result-oriented and disregarded the law. The reasoning in Madsen's plurality opinion is similar to that of
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's highest court in ''
Hernandez v. Robles Same-sex marriage has been legally recognized in the U.S. state of New York since July 24, 2011 under the '' Marriage Equality Act''. The Act does not have a residency restriction, as some similar laws in other states do. It allows religious orga ...
'', which was decided on July 6, 2006. The four justices that dissented accused the majority of relying upon "circular reasoning" in formulating their opinion. In the principal dissenting opinion, signed by Justices
Tom Chambers Tom or Thomas Chambers may refer to: Government and politics * Sir Thomas Chambers (colonial administrator) (died 1692), British administrator and factor of the British East India Company in Madras * Sir Thomas Chambers (British politician) (1814 ...
, Susan Owens, and Bobbe J. Bridge, Justice Mary Fairhurst asked: "Would giving same-sex couples the same right that opposite-sex couples enjoy injure the state's interest in procreation and healthy child rearing?" Justice
Tom Chambers Tom or Thomas Chambers may refer to: Government and politics * Sir Thomas Chambers (colonial administrator) (died 1692), British administrator and factor of the British East India Company in Madras * Sir Thomas Chambers (British politician) (1814 ...
issued a separate dissenting opinion signed by Justice Susan Owens, while Justice Bobbe J. Bridge issued another dissenting opinion.


Aftermath

Same-sex marriage supporters disagreed with the procreation argument and proposed Initiative 957 to challenge the court's assertion. It would have required that all marriages recognized by the state to produce offspring within three years of their solemnization. The initiative was created by the Washington Defense of Marriage Alliance, an LGBT rights group. The Washington Defense of Marriage Alliance hoped to use this to create a test case in order to have a court strike down the measure and highlight what they perceived as the weakness of the ''Andersen'' decision's logic. The initiative was filed on January 10, 2007, and withdrawn on July 3, 2007, after sponsors collected about 40,000 signatures, which was too few to qualify the measure for the November ballot. A bill to legalize same-sex marriage passed the legislature and was signed by Governor Christine Gregoire on February 13, 2012, but opponents gathered enough signatures to force a voter referendum on the legislation. Voters approved the proposed legislation in November 2012, making same-sex marriage legal as of December 6 of that year.


See also

*
Domestic partnership in Washington (state) State Registered Domestic Partnerships (SRDP) in Washington were created in 2007 following the ''Andersen v. King County'' decision. Subsequent legislation has made an SRDP the equivalent of marriage under state law. As a result of the legalizatio ...
*
Same-sex marriage in Washington (state) Same-sex marriage in Washington has been legally recognized since December 6, 2012. On February 13, 2012, Governor Christine Gregoire signed legislation that established full marriage rights for same-sex couples in the state of Washington. Oppo ...
*
LGBT rights in Washington (state) Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights in the U.S. state of Washington have evolved significantly since the late 20th century. Same-sex sexual activity was legalized in 1976. LGBT people are fully protected from discrimination in t ...


References


External links


Text of the 2004 King County ruling
(PDF)
Text of the 2006 Washington Supreme Court lead ruling
(PDF)
Links to PDF articles on all 6 Washington Supreme Court opinions
issued in ''Andersen v. King County''. {{LGBT in Washington State Washington (state) state case law 2006 in United States case law LGBT in Washington (state) 2006 in Washington (state) United States same-sex union case law History of King County, Washington 2006 in LGBT history