Missouri isn't the last word
Judge Backs Same-Sex Marriage
A Washington state law that bars gay unions is unconstitutional, a lower court rules.
By Lynn Marshall and Elizabeth Mehren
Times Staff Writers
August 5, 2004
SEATTLE — Gay and lesbian couples can marry under Washington state law because denying them that right is unconstitutional, a judge ruled Wednesday.
Prohibiting same-sex couples from marrying is "not rationally related to any legitimate or compelling state interest," said King County Superior Court Judge William L. Downing, who issued his ruling in response to a challenge of a state law defining marriage as between a man and a woman.
Downing stayed his decision to allow the state's Supreme Court to review the case. Until that court rules, no marriage licenses can be issued to same-sex couples in Washington.
If Downing's decision is upheld, Washington will become the second state — after Massachusetts — to permit gay and lesbian couples to marry. If sustained, the ruling would go beyond the law in Massachusetts because Washington has no residency requirements and would allow out-of-state couples to wed.
