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Introduction
1974: Singer v. Hara
1998: Defense of Marriage Statute
2004: Andersen v. Sims
2004: Castle v. Washington

Washington State: 2004: Castle v. Washington

On April 1, 2004, the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington filed Castle v. Washington in Thurston County Superior Court on behalf of eleven Washington same-sex couples who wished to be married. The plaintiffs argued that Washington’s same-sex marriage ban violates several provisions of the Washington Constitution. Thurston County Superior Court Judge Richard Hicks issued his opinion on September 7, 2004. In contrast to Andersen, Castle held that sexual orientation is a suspect class for purposes of Washington constitutional analysis. The court held that Washington’s same-sex marriage ban violates the privileges and immunities clause of the state Constitution. Defendants quickly appealed. Castle will be consolidated with Andersen v. Sims, and heard in Washington Supreme Court in 2005.

Chestnut and Crawford
Kevin Chestnut and Curtis Crawford, plaintiffs in Castle v. Washington, have been together 19 years. They were married in British Columbia, Canada.
  
Coffey and Tibbett
Pamela Coffey and Valerie Tibbett, plaintiffs in Castle v. Washington, have been together for 32 years. Valerie is a retired Administrative Law Judge; Pamela is a photographer.