Bob Ferguson, First Amendment Violation, Washington 2025

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Table of Contents

Washington State Senate, First Amendment Violation, Washington 2025

The Justice Department has announced it has opened a civil rights investigation into the development and passage of Washington State Senate Bill 5375, signed into law on May 2, 2025, by Governor Bob Ferguson.

The bill, which adds “members of the clergy” to a list of other professionals who are required to report information received in a confessional setting relating to child abuse or neglect to law enforcement or other state authorities, with no exception for the absolute seal of confidentiality that applies to Catholic Priests, has been deemed a potential First Amendment violation.

Furthermore, the State of Washington’s new law singles out “members of the clergy” as the only “supervisors” who may not rely on applicable legal privileges, including religious confessions, as a defense to mandatory reporting.

“SB 5375 demands that Catholic Priests violate their deeply held faith in order to obey the law, a violation of the Constitution and a breach of the free exercise of religion cannot stand under our Constitutional system of government,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.

The Civil Rights Division will investigate the apparent conflict between Washington State’s new law with the free exercise of religion under the First Amendment, a cornerstone of the United States Constitution.

The Justice Department takes this matter very seriously and looks forward to Washington State’s cooperation with the investigation.

As the investigation unfolds, it remains to be seen whether Washington State Senate Bill 5375 will be deemed unconstitutional, but one thing is clear: the First Amendment is at the forefront of this case, and the Justice Department will not back down in its pursuit of justice and the protection of civil rights.