A court decision has upheld Washington state’s anti-discrimination law, preventing such practices.
A Korean spa in Lynnwood, Washington, must now offer its services to transgender women, according to a ruling by a federal appeals court. The spa had attempted to exclude trans women who hadn’t undergone gender-affirming surgery from its women’s-only facilities.
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Thursday, with a 2-1 vote, that Olympus Spa must update its admissions policy to comply with the state’s anti-discrimination law. The court determined that the State of Washington’s requirement did not infringe upon the spa owners’ First Amendment rights, including freedom of religion, speech, and association.
Olympus Spa, which has two locations in Washington, is a traditional Korean bathhouse offering services like massages, body scrubs, and hot tubs, all requiring nudity. In 2020, the Washington State Human Rights Commission filed a complaint after a transgender woman—who had not had genital surgery—was denied entry.
The Commission contended that the spa’s women-only policy violated the Washington Law Against Discrimination (WLAD), which prohibits discrimination in public accommodations based on both gender identity and expression.
In response, Olympus Spa filed a lawsuit, claiming that the state was violating the owners’ constitutional rights to freedom of religion, speech, and association. The spa, operated by a Christian Korean-American family, cited religious and cultural beliefs in its opposition to allowing individuals with male genitalia into female-only spaces where nudity is required.
“The family-run business is owned by Korean Christians who hold sincere faith-based convictions against allowing persons whose genitals are external (males) to be present with persons whose genitals are internal (females) while in a state of partial or full undress if such persons are not married to one another,” the complaint stated.
However, the Ninth Circuit ruled that enforcing the state law does not violate the First Amendment. Judge Margaret McKeown, writing for the majority, stated that providing Korean body scrubs or massages does not constitute protected expressive conduct. She also noted that accepting the spa’s argument would essentially exempt every gym or massage parlor from nondiscrimination laws.
This ruling occurs amidst broader national debates regarding transgender rights. Earlier in the year, President Donald Trump reversed several protections for transgender individuals, ending federal support for child sexual mutilation procedures, issuing executive orders that ban trans women from women’s sports and removing “radical gender ideology” from the military.
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