LGBT

In February 2004 the ACLU announced an agreement settling a discrimination complaint filed by a gay man against a Seattle business that refused to print invitations to his wedding with his same-sex partner. Under the agreement, the business owner apologized for her actions and agreed to abide by Seattle’s anti-discrimination law in the future.

Mount Vernon High School has opened its formerly all-female cheerleading squad to all students, regardless of gender, after the ACLU intervened on behalf of a male transgender student who was denied a full opportunity to participate.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in December 2008 rejected the government's request to reconsider its ruling that reinstated a lawsuit challenging the dismissal of Major Margaret Witt, a decorated U.S. Air Force flight nurse, on grounds that she engaged in homosexual conduct. The case was remanded to the U.S. District Court in Tacoma, with a trial scheduled for September 13, 2010 on the issue of whether Major Witt's presence in her unit is harmful to unit cohesion.

Trevor Gilmore, a senior at A.C. Davis High School in Yakima, has been selected to receive one of ten National ACLU Youth Activist Scholarship Awards. For his work in starting the first Gay-Straight Alliance in Yakima, he is receiving a $4,000 college scholarship as part of a national ACLU program that recognizes youth who do exemplary work for civil liberties.

The City of Spokane adopted an ACLU-supported domestic partnership ordinance in April 2004.

The Washington Supreme Court has granted a woman the opportunity to seek parental rights with a child she helped raise with her former partner.

Damian Ball, a senior at Emerald Ridge High School in Puyallup, has been selected to receive a Youth Activist Scholarship Award in recognition of his work for civil liberties. The $4,000 college scholarship is one of 14 awarded by the American Civil Liberties Union to high school students around the nation.

The Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) has the same free speech rights as other student clubs at Federal Way High School, thanks to action by the ACLU. In March school officials notified the GSA that a student government vote against the club will not be grounds for denying it equal access to school resources.

Responding to problems faced by students in several schools, the American Civil Liberties Union is advising school officials statewide that their existing rules for student-organized clubs may discriminate against some student organizations. In a letter sent to school districts throughout Washington, the ACLU explained that federal law makes it clear that student clubs promoting tolerance for gay students are entitled to the same resources as other clubs.

The American Civil Liberties Union today urged the Washington Court of Appeals to recognize the parental rights of a lesbian mother who has separated from the biological mother of her daughter.