Narrow issue argued by the spa owners. Narrow decision by the Court. You girls were against "judicial activism" before you were for it.
But outrage! of course.
- - - - - -
Notably, the Spa did not challenge this definition or the language of the statute. The Spa did not argue that the statute was vague or that the Spa’s conduct did not fit within the statute’s definition of discrimination on the basis of gender expression or identity. Nor did the Spa challenge the implementing regulations or the HRC’s related policies, either in this lawsuit or during the HRC’s enforcement action against it.
Although the enforcement action is grounded in state law, the Spa sued state officials (the Executive Director and Civil Rights Investigator for the HRC) on First Amendment grounds, claiming that WLAD, as enforced against the Spa’s entrance policy, violates its rights to the freedom of speech, religion, and association. Because the enforcement action did not violate the Spa’s First Amendment rights, we affirm the district court’s dismissal of the Spa’s complaint.
The dissent endeavors to make this case about anything but the Spa’s First Amendment claims, instead offering a political screed against the HRC’s enforcement of the statute, which relies on an unargued—and unfounded— interpretation of WLAD’s plain language. But this case has nothing to with President Trump or discrimination against Asian Americans. The Spa simply did not challenge the statute itself, and it is not our role to rewrite the statute. We are not unmindful of the concerns and beliefs raised by the Spa. Indeed, the Spa may have other avenues to challenge the enforcement action. But whatever recourse it may have, that relief cannot come from the First Amendment.