Washington Sex Laws
http://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/Default.aspx
Last update: 9/7/2014
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http://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=26.04.010
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RCW 26.04.010 Marriage contract — Void marriages — Construction of gender specific terms — Recognition of solemnization of marriage not required. |
(1) Marriage is a civil contract between two persons
who have each attained the age of eighteen years, and who are otherwise
capable.
(2) Every marriage entered into in which either person
has not attained the age of seventeen years is void except where this section
has been waived by a superior court judge of the county in which one of the
parties resides on a showing of necessity.
(3) Where necessary to implement the rights and
responsibilities of spouses under the law, gender specific terms such as
husband and wife used in any statute, rule, or other law must be construed to
be gender neutral and applicable to spouses of the same sex.
(4) No regularly licensed or ordained minister or
any priest, imam, rabbi, or similar official of any religious organization is
required to solemnize or recognize any marriage. A regularly licensed or
ordained minister or priest, imam, rabbi, or similar official of any religious
organization shall be immune from any civil claim or cause of action based on a
refusal to solemnize or recognize any marriage under this section. No state
agency or local government may base a decision to penalize, withhold benefits
from, or refuse to contract with any religious organization on the refusal of a
person associated with such religious organization to solemnize or recognize a
marriage under this section.
(5) No religious organization is required to provide
accommodations, facilities, advantages, privileges, services, or goods related
to the solemnization or celebration of a marriage.
[2012 c 3 § 1 (Referendum Measure No. 74, approved November 6, 2012); 1998 c 1
§ 3; 1973 1st ex.s. c 154 § 26; 1970 ex.s. c 17 § 2; 1963 c 230 § 1; Code 1881
§ 2380; 1866 p 81 § 1; 1854 p 404 §§ 1, 5; RRS § 8437.]
Washington Revised Code - Title 26. Domestic relations - Chapter 04. Marriage
26.04.010. Marriage contract– Void marriages.
(1) Marriage is a civil contract between two persons who have each attained the age of eighteen years, and who are otherwise capable.
(3) Where necessary to implement the rights and responsibilities of spouses under the law, gender specific terms such as husband and wife used in any statute, rule, or other law must be construed to be gender neutral and applicable to spouses of the same sex.
Allows same-sex marriage.
Domestic partnerships have been recognized as of July 22, 2007 and extented in 2008 and 2009, to all areas of statutes with the exception as shown above. See Domestic partnership in Washington.
On 13 February 2012, Governor Christine Gregoire signed a measure legalizing same-sex marriage that would go into effect on 7 June 2012 unless a referendum with sufficient petition signatures were filed. Washington Referendum 74 (2012) was successfully filed in opposition to this law and appeared on the general election ballot on 6 November. Voters approved the referendum, making same-sex marriage legal in the state of Washington. The law allowing same-sex marriage went into effect on 6 December, and the first same-sex marriage licenses were issued 9 December.
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Uniform parentage act. |
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RCW 26.26.705 Child of assisted reproduction — Parental status of donor. |
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A donor is not a parent of a child conceived by means of assisted reproduction, unless otherwise agreed in a signed record by the donor and the person or persons intending to be parents of a child conceived through assisted reproduction.
[2011 c 283 § 46; 2002 c 302 § 602.]
Notes:
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Costs -- Application -- 2011 c 283: See notes following RCW 26.26.011. |
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RCW 26.26.735 Child of assisted reproduction — Effect of agreement between egg donor and woman who gives birth. |
The donor of eggs provided to a licensed physician for use in assisted reproduction for the purpose of attempting to achieve a pregnancy in a woman other than the donor is treated in law as if she were not the parent of a child thereafter conceived and born unless the donor and the woman who gives birth to a child as a result of the assisted reproduction agree in writing that the donor is to be a parent. RCW 26.26.705 does not apply in such case. A woman who gives birth to a child conceived through assisted reproduction under the supervision and with the assistance of a licensed physician is treated in law as if she were the parent of the child unless an agreement in writing signed by an egg donor and the woman giving birth to the child states otherwise. An agreement pursuant to this section must be in writing and signed by the egg donor and the woman who gives birth to the child and any other intended parent of the child. The physician shall certify the parties' signatures and the date of the egg harvest, identify the subsequent medical procedures undertaken, and identify the intended parents. The agreement, including the affidavit and certification, must be filed with the registrar of vital statistics, where it must be kept confidential and in a sealed file.
[2011 c 283 § 52; 2002 c 302 § 608.]
Notes:
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Costs -- Application -- 2011 c 283: See notes following RCW 26.26.011. |
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RCW 26.60.010 Finding. |
Many Washingtonians are in intimate, committed, and exclusive
relationships with another person to whom they are not legally married. These
relationships are important to the individuals involved and their families;
they also benefit the public by providing a private source of mutual support
for the financial, physical, and emotional health of those individuals and
their families. The public has an interest in providing a legal framework for
such mutually supportive relationships, whether the partners are of the same or
different sexes, and irrespective of their sexual orientation.
The legislature finds that the public interest would
be served by extending rights and benefits to couples in which either or both
of the partners are at least sixty-two years of age. While these couples are
entitled to marry under the state's marriage statutes, some social security and
pension laws nevertheless make it impractical for these couples to marry. For
this reason, chapter 156, Laws of 2007 specifically allows couples to enter
into a state registered domestic partnership if one of the persons is at least
sixty-two years of age, the age at which many people choose to retire and are
eligible to begin collecting social security and pension benefits.
The rights granted to state registered domestic
partners in chapter 156, Laws of 2007 will further Washington's interest in
promoting family relationships and protecting family members during life
crises. Chapter 156, Laws of 2007 does not affect marriage or any other ways in
which legal rights and responsibilities between two adults may be created,
recognized, or given effect in Washington.
[2012 c 3 § 8 (Referendum Measure No. 74, approved November 6, 2012); 2007 c 156 § 1.]
Notes:
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Effective date -- 2012 c 3 §§ 8 and 9: "Sections 8 and 9 of this act take effect June 30, 2014, but only if all other provisions of this act are implemented." [2012 c 3 § 18 (Referendum Measure No. 74, approved November 6, 2012).] Notice -- 2012 c 3: See note following RCW 26.04.010. |