Washington State: 1974: Singer v. Hara

In 1971, Seattle residents John Singer and Paul Barwick, activists in the gay rights movement, attempted to obtain a marriage license as a way to demonstrate inequality between gay and heterosexual couples. When their license was denied, Singer and Barwick filed a lawsuit. At the Washington Court of Appeals they argued that prohibiting same-sex marriage violated the new Equal Rights Amendment to the Washington Constitution because the denial was a gender-based prohibition. The Court disagreed, and in the 1974 decision Singer v. Hara ruled that the license denial did not violate the Equal Rights Amendment or any other part of the Washington Constitution. The Washington Supreme Court denied review of the Court’s decision.

The November 1971 issue of The Advocate included an article about John Singer and Paul Barwick. Reprinted from The Advocate, © 1971. All rights reserved. Used by permission of LPI Media.
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