Marriage Equality Defeated by WA State Supreme Court

The State Supreme Court handed down its decision on the constitutionality of the state Defense of Marriage Act on July 26. In a 5-4 ruling, the court upheld the 1998 law that defined marriage as between a man and a woman. Nineteen couples brought the lawsuit after being denied marriage licenses two years ago.

Following the announcement of the opinion, more than 600 Washingtonians met at community gatherings around the state to draw collective strength and discuss the next step. Gatherings were held in Seattle, Tacoma, Olympia, Vancouver,Bellingham, Yakima, and Spokane.

Beth Reis and her partner of 29 years, Barbara Steele, spoke in Seattle about their disappointment with the decision. "They say it's OK for the legislature to decide that we have to buy rights by paying lawyers for documents," said Reis, "and that those of us who are too poor to buy our rights can always leave our loved ones and marry people of another gender." The couple has four children, 11 grandchildren and two great-grandsons.

As the movement decides its next step, activists should not forget that in the 16 months that Washington's LGBT citizens waited for a decision, only two protest marches were called to demonstrate visible support for equal rights. The only action the movement planned since the last protest march in March 2006 was a "community gathering" on the day of the decision. The movement instead favored the "wait and see" approach with a "non-threatening" tactic of doorbelling, letter writing, and lobby days.

A stronger, more vocal, and more visible movement might have tipped the scales in favor of marriage equality. With no pressure from below, the court's were free to take as long as they wanted to work out a politically acceptable solution: to send the issue back to the legislature.

The next step in the struggle will likely take place in the legislature, where it took 30 years to pass a bill extending civil rights protections to LGBT people.

Polls indicate that opposition to marriage equality has been diminishing in recent years, the Pew Research Center finding that only 51 percent of Americans oppose gay marriage, down from 63 percent in 2004.

To win a decisive victory in this struggle, the marriage equality movement must become an activist movement, rallying supporters who until now have remained silent or passive. The movement must also break its dependence on the Democrats, continue to build on its relationships with the immigrant rights and the labor movements, and relearn the lessons of liberation struggles of the past.