Ninth Circuit Denies Spa Rehearing Amid Dissent Backlash

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday denied a request to rehear a case involving a Washington state spa's challenge to the state's antidiscrimination law, prompting a sharply worded dissent from Judge Lawrence VanDyke that used crude language to criticize the ruling and drew rebukes from a majority of his colleagues.

The dispute centers on Olympus Spa, a family-owned business in Lynnwood, Washington, modeled after traditional Korean jjimjilbang bathhouses. The spa maintains a women-only policy for its nude facilities, requiring that transgender women have undergone gender confirmation surgery to enter, citing religious beliefs and concerns for the comfort and safety of female customers and staff, some as young as 13. In 2020, a transgender woman who had not undergone surgery was denied entry and filed a complaint with the Washington State Human Rights Commission, alleging discrimination under the Washington Law Against Discrimination, which prohibits bias based on gender identity in public accommodations.

The spa's owner, Myoon Woon Lee, sued the commission, arguing that enforcement of the law violated the First Amendment rights to free exercise of religion, free...