Gay marriage
The claim: Opponents of same-sex marriage in Washington state have said there will be a rash of civil suits against individuals and businesses that don't want to provide wedding-related services to same-sex couples because it conflicts with their religious beliefs.
What we found: Mostly false.
Yes, we know it's not possible to prove or disprove something that hasn't happened yet. But it is possible to look back, and when we do, we see that concerns about legal entanglements were raised in 2006 when Washington outlawed discrimination against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people, and those worries proved to be unfounded.
Nonetheless, the claim that allowing same-sex marriage would result in a slew of lawsuits against businesses resurfaced about three weeks ago, when the state Senate was debating a bill to legalize gay marriage.
That bill has passed the Legislature and is awaiting Gov. Chris Gregoire's signature on Monday.