PORT TOWNSEND — Tom Duke just wanted to contact the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington to let legal representatives know where he stood on gay marriage.

Duke went to the ACLU of Washington at the recommendation of Sen. Patty Murray, D-Shoreline, who Duke first wrote.

It wasn’t long thereafter that he and his partner of eight years, Port Townsend businessman Phuoc Lam, joined 18 other gay and lesbian couples in an ACLU lawsuit against the state.

Earlier this year, the lawsuit went before the state Supreme Court in Olympia, where the state is appealing lower court rulings.

Overturning marriage act

Duke and Lam are among the plaintiffs in two lawsuits — Castle v. State and Andersen v. King County — seeking to overturn the state’s Defense of Marriage Act, which denies marriage equality to same-sex couples.

In the suits, the ACLU is representing 11 couples from around the state, and Lambda Legal and the Northwest Women’s Law Center are representing eight couples from King County.

Like their 36 co-plaintiffs, Duke and Lam joined the ACLU lawsuit because they believe the state should not limit marriage on the basis of race, gender or sexual orientation.

For seeking legal recognition of their right to marry, the Port Townsend couple recently shared with their co-plaintiffs the honor of an American Civil Liberties Union of Washington 2005 Civil Libertarian Award.

The awards were presented at the annual ACLU Bill of Rights Celebration Dinner Nov. 19 in Seattle.

Duke, who has worked as a drug rehabilitation counselor with Safe Harbor Recovery Center in Port Townsend, is now involved with the Red Cross in counseling victims of disasters, such as Hurricane Katrina.

He said his original intent was just to volunteer for the ACLU, a legal entity he highly respects.

“I just feel like an innocent bystander that got swept up in the whole thing,” said Duke, who has been a Port Townsend-area therapist since 1988.

He humbly adds that others who have won the ACLU award, including Washington broadcaster Edward R. Murrow, are more deserving.

Courageous couples

ACLU officials see it differently.

“These couples have courageously stepped forward to represent all people in Washington in a matter of fundamental fairness and equality,” said ACLU board member Suzanne Holland, who chaired the awards committee.

“They have advanced the cause of equal marriage rights by speaking with the media and in public forums, opening themselves and their families to controversy and public scrutiny.”