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LGBT

Washington Attorney General Sues Florist For Anti-Gay Discrimination

By Zack Ford on Apr 10, 2013 at 9:11 am

In March, Arlene’s Flowers & Gifts in Richland, Washington refused to provide wedding flowers to Rob Ingersoll and his partner, even though they’d been long-time customers of the florist. After owner Barronelle Stutzman informed Ingersoll that she could not provide the flowers because of her “relationship with Jesus Christ,” Ingersoll shared his story online and the news went viral.

Now, State Attorney General Bob Ferguson has filed a consumer protection lawsuit against Arlene’s Flowers for violating the state’s nondiscrimination protections based on sexual orientation:

FERGUSON: As Attorney General, it is my job to enforce the laws of the state of Washington. Under the Consumer Protection Act, it is unlawful to discriminate against customers based on sexual orientation.  If a business provides a product or service to opposite-sex couples for their weddings, then it must provide same sex couples the same product or service.

The suit asks for a permanent injunction against future discrimination and a $2,000 fine for every violation. An employee at Arlene’s told KEPR-TV that “none of us will have any comment.” Stutzman’s attorney’s warned Ferguson that “a number of national non-profit organizations… are ready for a fight,” perhaps referring to groups like the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), which regularly defends individuals when it believes their “religious liberty” has been infringed upon.

It’s important to note that Stutzman would have been violating Washington law even if marriage equality had not passed in November. State nondiscrimination policies protect gay couples from any business that would try to refuse them service, whether the service was related to a wedding or not. Incidentally, ADF recently highlighted five examples of how same-sex marriage “threatens”  biblical beliefs, but none of them actually took place it states where same-sex marriage was legal.

Health

Washington State May Require Insurers To Cover Abortion As Part Of Maternity Care

By Tara Culp-Ressler on Mar 25, 2013 at 9:05 am

Across the country, about 21 states have restricted access to abortion by preventing insurance companies from covering the cost of the legal medical procedure. But lawmakers in Washington State are currently considering the opposite approach: legislation to mandate that insurance companies pay for abortion services as part of their plans’ maternity care.

Washington has traditionally been a trailblazer when it comes to reproductive rights. In 1970, the state become the first to legalize abortion by a popular vote. Now, under the proposed Reproductive Parity Act, it may become the first to ensure that insurance companies aren’t permitted to segregate abortion care from the rest of the women’s health services covered under their plans:

The bill passed the state House earlier this month by a vote of 53-43, though it faces an uncertain future in the Senate. A similar bill in the New York state Assembly has been introduced each session for over a decade but has never received a public hearing.

“This is a core value for Washingtonians,” said Melanie Smith, a lobbyist for NARAL Pro-Choice Washington. “We should protect it while we still have it and not leave access to basic health care up to an insurance company.” [...]

Supporters of Washington state’s proposed abortion insurance mandate are careful to stress that it wouldn’t lead to a dramatic uptick in abortions or require carriers with a religious bent to cover the procedure. They also note that a pair of federal plans that will be sold on all 50 state exchanges will be barred from covering elective abortions.

“It’s not expanding abortion coverage,” said Democratic Rep. Eileen Cody of West Seattle, the bill’s primary sponsor. “It’s ensuring the rights of women to get what they’re paying for now and to continue their freedom of choice.”

The bill has been hotly contested, particularly as conservatives have argued it represents an affront to the religious liberty of individuals who oppose abortion and don’t want to purchase plans that cover it. But Obamacare already requires at least some plans in the state-level insurance marketplaces to exclude abortion coverage. And, as Rep. Cody notes, the legislation wouldn’t actually significantly change the current landscape in Washington because all of the state’s major insurers already cover abortion.

But it would prevent new insurers entering Washington’s insurance marketplace from adopting the same kind of anti-abortion policies that have been sweeping the nation over the past two years, as states across the country have rushed to block access to abortion coverage. Elizabeth Nash, the state issues manager for the Guttmacher Institute, told the New York Times that the bill’s passage would be a “watershed event” regardless of its immediate impact on the insurance market. “It would be a model for other states to follow,” Nash explained.

According to the Guttmacher Institute, only about 12 percent of the abortions across the country are paid for by insurance providers. But in states that have enacted roadblocks to abortion coverage, women who seek abortions are often forced to pay large out-of-pocket costs in order to make their own medical decisions. The average cost of a first-trimester abortion is about $470, and an estimated 42 percent of the women who seek abortions have incomes that fall below the federal poverty line.

Justice

Washington Police Retraining Drug Dogs Not To Sniff For Marijuana After Legalization

By Ian Millhiser on Mar 21, 2013 at 9:00 am


Recently, the Supreme Court reiterated that police may search a suspect when a trained drug sniffing dog indicates that the suspect is carrying drugs or other illegal materials, and “all the facts surrounding a dog’s alert, viewed through the lens of common sense, would make a reasonably prudent person think that a search would reveal contraband or evidence of a crime.” Thus, if police wish to search a suspect for drugs, but lack a constitutional basis to do so, a drug dog can sniff the suspect and provide police with probable cause for a search if the dog “alerts.”

In Washington state, however, it is no longer a crime for someone of legal drinking age to carry up to an ounce of marijuana — and that changes the constitutional status of dog sniff. If a dog is trained to sniff out marijuana and cocaine, and it alerts after sniffing an adult suspect, that no longer would lead a “reasonably prudent person think that a search would reveal contraband or evidence of a crime” because it is likely the dog only reacted to the presence of marijuana on the suspect. Marijuana sniffing dogs cannot no longer provide probable cause that a suspect is engaged in criminal activity, because the dogs are trained to alert when the suspect is doing something that is no longer illegal under state law.

As a result of this constitutional dilemma, several Washington state police departments are retraining their drug sniffing dogs:

The passage of I-502 made things difficult enough for the humans tasked with creating and enforcing the laws for legal marijuana. Now, try explaining the difference between “personal use” and “intent to sell” or the gray area between state and federal law to a dog.

That’s why many law-enforcement agencies around the state, including the Seattle Police Department and Washington State Patrol, will no longer be training their drug-sniffing dogs to alert for marijuana. . . .

Sgt. Sean Whitcomb said the Seattle Police Department is already taking steps to desensitize its dogs to marijuana through rewards and constant training.

Currently, some law enforcement agencies continue to use marijuana-sniffing dogs in Washington. As a memo from the Washington Association of Prosecuting Attorneys explains, however, these dogs can no longer be relied on exclusively to justify a search.

LGBT

District Of Columbia Prohibits Insurance Companies From Discriminating Against Transgender People

By Andrew Cray, Guest Blogger on Mar 19, 2013 at 11:45 am

Today, the DC Department of Insurance, Securities, and Banking (DISB) issued a bulletin clarifying key protections for transgender people in the District of Columbia. The bulletin provides a clear directive to insurers that discrimination on the basis of gender identity or expression is not an acceptable business practice in Washington.

The bulletin prohibits insurance companies from some of the most egregious practices that have been used to lock transgender people out of health care coverage, including:

  • Denying, cancelling, limiting, or refusing to renew an insurance policy.
  • Limiting insurance coverage on the basis of gender identity or expression.
  • Denying coverage for a procedure that is provided for the treatment of other conditions of illness. For example, if a plan covers hormone therapy for some diagnoses, it cannot categorically exclude coverage for hormone therapy related to gender identity disorder or other transition-related diagnosis.

DC joins a growing number of states, municipalities, and employers who recognize that equal access to health coverage is supported by medical science, improves the health of transgender people, and does not significantly increase costs. Ending arbitrary insurance discrimination against transgender people simply supports what expert medical bodies have been saying for years: transition-related health care is medically necessary for many transgender individuals whose health and well-being depends on bringing their physical body into alignment with their gender identity, and determination of what care an individual patient needs properly rests with medical providers, not insurance companies.

Read the full bulletin and the joint announcement from the Mayor’s Office of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender (GLBT) Affairs and the Department of Insurance, Securities, and Banking.

 

Justice

Washington Republicans Try To Fire Supreme Court Judges By Making Them Draw Straws

By Aviva Shen on Mar 7, 2013 at 6:00 pm

Angry over a recent Washington Supreme Court decision finding the state must put more funds into basic education, GOP state lawmakers are proposing the additional money come from downsizing the state Supreme Court to 5 justices from 9. Senate Bill 5867, sponsored by failed US Senate candidate state Sen. Michael Baumgartner (R-WA), would make the justices draw straws to decide who had to hang up their robes:

“On June 30, 2013, all existing judges of the state supreme court, shall meet in public to cast lots by drawing straws,” the bill says. “Effective July 1,2013, the positions of the four judges casting losing lots by drawing the shortest straws shall be terminated.”

The bill’s sponsor, state Sen. Michael Baumgartner, said the job cuts could save about $1.5 million in salary and administrative costs.

“Every dollar we save by eliminating these four positions would be automatically funneled to K-12 education to help meet the guidelines the Supreme Court laid out in the McCleary decision,” Baumgartner said in a news release.

In the education case, McCleary v. State of Washington, 7 justices decided the state was failing to uphold a constitutional obligation to fully fund basic education. The decision stated that education was the “paramount” obligation, and funding cannot be cut purely to mitigate the state’s budget shortfall. To this end, the court now requires annual reports of progress by the Legislature. Eliminating 4 seats, as Baumgartner proposed, would almost definitely take out at least some of the offending justices.

The bill was introduced just a week after the court dealt conservatives another blow; a 6-3 decision invalidated a requirement that two-thirds of the Legislature must agree to any tax increase.

LGBT

Washington Florist Refuses To Serve Long-Time Customer’s Same-Sex Wedding

By Zack Ford on Mar 6, 2013 at 2:12 pm

Rob Ingersoll and his partner have been using the same florist, Barronelle Stutzman of Arlene’s Flowers, in their home of Richland, Washington for years, but now that they are engaged to be wed, Stutzman says she can’t do the wedding. Her explanation for denying them service was her “relationship with Jesus Christ,” as she explained to NBC Right Now (KNDO):

STUTZMAN: And I just took his hands and I said I’m sorry I can’t do your wedding because of my relationship with Jesus Christ… We hire gay people. I have friends that are gay, that wasn’t the issue. The issue is that I just didn’t want to participate in the marriage. [...]

Because of public outcry, Stutzman posted a response on the Facebook page for Arlene’s Flowers:

Since that day, we have received many comments on same sex marriages. I believe, biblically, that marriage is between a man and a woman. That is my conviction, yours may be different.

I have hired all walks of people in different circumstances, and had the privilege of working with some very talented people that happen to be gay.

I’m sure there are many places you can purchase flowers, if you choose not to purchase them from Arlene’s, because of your beliefs, then I certainly understand.

Watch a clip of her interview with KNDO:

Though he was extremely hurt by her rejection, Ingersoll expressed his regret for posting about it because he does say he respects her right to her views. Numerous attorneys have reached out to him because she blatantly violated Washington’s laws protecting against discrimination based on sexual orientation. (HT: The Advocate.)

Climate Progress

Beltway Heat: Sweltering Summers To Become The Norm For Nation’s Capital, According To New Climate Report

By Jeff Spross on Jan 16, 2013 at 12:30 pm

Projected average increases in the number of days with a maximum temperature greater than 95°F between 2041-2070, compared to 1971-2000 assuming continued increases in global emissions.

The draft of the Federal Advisory Committee’s National Climate Assessment was released several days ago, with dire warnings of significantly higher temperatures across the nation bringing more heat waves, deluges, droughts, and other forms of extreme weather. It also concluded that much of the climate change seen over the last 50 years was primarily driven by human activity.

But the report also had more locally relevant news for residents of Washington, D.C., which just experienced a record-breaking 11 straight days of temperatures of 95 degrees Fahrenheit this past summer. If humans continue driving up the amount of carbon in the atmosphere at their current pace, the number of days D.C. sees over that temperature threshold could increase by more than 15 days per year by mid-century:

If emissions continue to increase… warming of 4.5ºF to 10ºF is projected by the 2080s; if global emissions were reduced substantially… projected warming ranges from about 3ºF to 6ºF by the 2080s.

Under both emissions scenarios, the frequency, intensity, and duration of heat waves is expected to increase, with larger increases under higher emissions. Regional climate model simulations suggest that the southern part of the region, including large parts of West Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware could experience more than a doubling of days per year over 95ºF by the 2050s.

Much of the southern portion of the region, including the majority of Maryland, and Delaware, and southwest West Virginia and New Jersey, are projected to experience more than 15 additional days per year above 95°F, which will impact the regions vulnerable populations, infrastructure, and agriculture and ecosystems.

2012 was Washington, D.C.’s hottest year, with records going back all the way to 1871. And this past summer was the third hottest the city has seen in that time — and the two summers that beat it out were 2010 and 2011.

According to the climate assessment, the snowless winters the nation’s capital has recently experienced could become the norm as well. If greenhouse gases continue their current rapid increase, the number of days when temperatures dip below 32 degrees Farehnheit would decrease by 25 percent between now and 2050 — a total drop of 20 days.

Along with the heat, D.C. also dealt with persistent drought in 2012, leading to rainfall about 8 inches below normal. Conversely, and consistent with global warming’s tendency to drive more erratic weather, the District has also been hit with more severe flooding as recently as 2006. And the city is already adapting: Thanks to its efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, Washington, D.C. was recognized in 2011 and 2012 as the number one U.S. EPA Green Power Community. The city is constructing a floodgate on the National Mall to protect its core from flooding, it surpassed 1.5 million square feet of green roofs in 2012, and it grew its tree canopy by 818 acres between 2006 and 2011 — bringing added shade, cooler temperatures, and reduced energy use.

LGBT

Same-Sex Weddings Will Begin At Midnight Tonight In Maryland

By Tara Culp-Ressler on Dec 31, 2012 at 12:15 pm

When the clock strikes midnight tonight, it will mark more than simply the start of a new year for some couples in Maryland — it’s also when Maryland’s new marriage equality law officially takes effect. Some same-sex weddings are already planned for the first moments of 2013.

Since New Year’s Day is a government holiday, courthouses across Maryland are closed. But that didn’t stop Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake (D) from taking steps to ensure that same-sex couples won’t have to wait any longer for marriage equality. Rawlings-Blake will open Baltimore’s city hall tonight to allow at least seven same-sex couples to get married, and the mayor plans to serve as an official witness for the wedding ceremonies:

“New Years Day will have a new meaning for the hundreds — if not thousands — of couples who will finally have the right to marry the person they love,” said Mayor Rawlings-Blake.

“It is a remarkable achievement for Maryland, and we are excited to open City Hall to host some of the first wedding ceremonies in our great state. Newly married couples will stand before their friends and family to profess their love and commitment to each other. This is what we worked for, and I am looking forward to take part in this historic and jubilant day.”

The first couple to be married at City Hall will be a longtime aide to the mayor and his partner of 35 years. And even though the courthouses in other Maryland cities may not be open, the early marriage licenses that some same-sex couples in the state were able to begin applying for in December will become official at midnight tonight.

After sweeping LGBT victories in November expanded marriage equality across several states, same-sex couples also began getting married in Washington earlier this month and in Maine earlier this week.

Health

Nation’s First Standardized Sex Ed Test Reveals Gaps In Students’ Knowledge

By Tara Culp-Ressler on Dec 13, 2012 at 12:10 pm

Washington, D.C. just released the results of the nation’s first standardized test measuring students’ knowledge of health and human sexuality. Although high school students were able to answer about 75 percent of the questions correctly, the results confirm that they knew less about practical solutions for sexual health issues, such as how to locate health information and assistance.

The District’s education department administered the 50-question health exam to more than 11,000 students in the city’s public schools and public charter schools last spring, developing age-appropriate assessments for students in grades 5, 8, and 10. Overall, D.C. students correctly answered about 62 percent of the questions on the exam, which focused on health topics like emotional wellness, disease prevention, and sex education. But fifth and eighth graders aren’t as educated about the human body as they should be, and high schoolers could only identify about 40 percent of the correct answers about where they can access more health resources if they need them.

Adam Tenner, the executive director of the community health organization Metro TeenAids, told the Washington Post that although the District’s students still have room for improvement, the exam does represent an important milestone for sexual education efforts:

“In a city with such high rates of HIV, teen pregnancy and STDs — let alone obesity and other diseases that plague our community — we’re not where we should be,” Tenner said in an interview. [...]

But the exam was also hailed by advocates as a step toward understanding — and ultimately decreasing — the city’s high rates of childhood obesity, sexually transmitted diseases and teen pregnancy.

Tenner called the test “historic” and praised officials for their willingness to begin examining the root causes of the city’s health problems. Now the question is what needs to be done to make sure schools have what they need to improve health education, he said.

Public schools in Washington, D.C. are required to include medically-accurate sexual health instruction in their health curricula, including information about sexual orientation and HIV prevention, although parents may choose to opt their children out of those courses. But 38 states across the country don’t currently mandate sexual education in schools, and often push misleading, shame-based “abstinence only” programs instead — with serious consequences for their students. One recent survey of sexual education curricula in New York, which doesn’t have specific standards for medically accurate instruction materials about sexual health in classrooms, found that public schools had “shocking gaps” in their sex ed courses.

Although the District’s students are already ahead of the national average, there is still room for improvement, as Tenner points out. Other surveys have found that the majority of college students don’t know how to use the Internet to figure out how to locate contraception, the same lack of knowledge about accessing health resources that D.C. high school students revealed. More comprehensive sexual education curricula could help prevent D.C. students from being in the same situation once they reach their undergrad years.

Justice

Washington State Abandons Defense Of Unconstitutional Sex Trafficking Law

By Ian Millhiser on Dec 10, 2012 at 1:50 pm

Last February, the Washington legislature enacted a law prohibiting anyone from “advertising [the] commercial sexual abuse of a minor if he or she knowingly publishes, disseminates, or displays, or causes directly or indirectly, to be published, disseminated, or displayed, any advertisement for a commercial sex act.” The goal of this law — preventing child sex trafficking — is laudable, but the law’s wording was also sufficiently ambiguous that it could have endangered common social media websites or Craigslist-style classified ad pages. Indeed, the Internet Archive, a website that facilitates research by maintaining public archives of the World Wide Web, supported a lawsuit challenging the law because it feared that it could face felony charges for providing comprehensive web archives that would include some forbidden web advertisements. Last July, a federal judge temporarily blocked the law.

In the wake of these challenges, the state of Washington now admits that the law cannot be defended in federal court:

The state of Washington has abandoned its defense of legislation passed earlier this year that could have exposed website operators to legal liability if they inadvertently hosted advertisements for child prostitution. . . . . The legislation, known as SB 6251, was designed to fight the sexual exploitation of minors. But critics said language criminalizing the dissemination of advertisements which include “an explicit or implicit offer for a commercial sex act to occur in Washington” went too far. The Internet Archive worried that such ads could effectively make its archives of the Web illegal, since some websites included in the archives could fit the law’s definition of material soliciting prostitution. So it joined a lawsuit by Backpage.com, which was also challenging the law. . . .

And that’s not all. The state will pay $200,000 to defray the plaintiffs’ legal expenses, and Washington state attorney general Rob McKenna will “work with the Washington State Legislature to repeal the current unconstitutional version” of the law.

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