page_title: LGBT rights in Washington (state)
section_title: Recognition of same-sex relationships
hierarchical_section_title: LGBT rights in Washington (state) / Recognition of same-sex relationships
caption_attribution_description: English: Recently married couple leaving the courthouse in Seattle are greeted by well-wishers on the first day of same-sex marriage in Washington state after enactment of Washington Referendum 74
context_page_description: Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender rights in the U.S. state of Washington have evolved significantly since the late 20th century. Same-sex sexual activity was legalized in 1976. LGBT people are fully protected from discrimination in the areas of employment, housing and public accommodations; the state enacting comprehensive anti-discrimination legislation regarding sexual orientation and gender identity in 2006. Same-sex marriage has been legal since 2012, and same-sex couples are allowed to adopt. Conversion therapy on minors has also been illegal since 2018.
  Washington is frequently referred to as one of the United States' most LGBT-friendly states. Opinion polling have shown that a majority of Washingtonians support same-sex marriage and LGBT rights more broadly. A 2019 survey from the Public Religion Research Institute showed that 74% of residents supported anti-discrimination laws protecting LGBT people. In November 2012, voters approved a same-sex marriage law in Referendum 74.
context_section_description: Since 2001, Washington state has provided benefits to same-sex partners of state employees.
  The state adopted a statute defining marriage as the union of a man and a woman in 1998. In the 2006 case of Andersen v. King County, the Washington Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of that law. Since 2007, Washington state has recognized its own state-registered domestic partnerships, which are considered equivalent to the domestic partnerships, civil unions, and marriages of same-sex couples in other jurisdictions. It has also recognized same-sex civil unions and domestic partnerships established in other jurisdictions since then.
  Since 2011, Washington state has recognized same-sex marriages performed elsewhere as the equivalent of its own domestic partnerships.
  Governor Chris Gregoire signed a law authorizing same-sex marriages on February 13, 2012, but opponents gathered enough signatures to force a voter referendum on the legislation. Voters approved the law in the November election by a margin of 54% to 46%. Same-sex marriages have been recognized by the state since that law took effect on December 6. The law also provided that Washington's registered domestic partnerships convert automatically to marriages on June 30, 2014, if not dissolved before that date.
caption: A newly married couple leaving Seattle City Hall is greeted by well-wishers on the first day same-sex marriages are celebrated in Washington state.
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