June is PRIDE Month – Learn

As part of our continuing efforts to grow understanding and educate ourselves during PRIDE month, Lasher’s IDEA Committee is sharing information about significant legal issues faced by Washington’s LGBTQ community over the past forty years. Some of these issues have been resolved, some are still ongoing. Here are just a few:

  1. Same-Sex Marriage. The state of Washington legalized same-sex marriage back in 2012, three years ahead of the Supreme Court of the United States’ decision in Obergefell v. Hodges.
  2. Possible Employment Discrimination. Some employers are still enforcing uniform policies that require employees to adhere to more rigid male-female distinctions, even for non-binary and gender non-conforming persons. The ACLU recently addressed this very issue in Seattle with regard to flight attendants.
  3. Refusal of Services. One recent high-profile case involved a flower shop owner who refused to provide custom floral arrangements for a same-sex wedding. The Washington Supreme Court held that this was discriminatory on the basis of sexual orientation even though the owner claimed this infringed on their religious beliefs.
  4. Military Service. The hot-button issue of whether transgender persons should serve in the military was a topic of conversation across airwaves for years. But in 2021-22, a new policy was announced so that they can now openly serve in their self-identified gender so long as they can meet the Army’s standards for military service.

The quest for LGBTQ equity and justice goes on. . .. We hope you will join us in educating and celebrating the many opportunities PRIDE month gives us all to be our best selves, and further the mission of Inclusion, Diversity, Equity & Access.