Arizona
In the 2006 election, Arizona's proposed anti-marriage constitutional amendment was defeated by the electorate. With this, Arizona became the first state to reject an anti-marriage constitutional amendment, by a margin of 51 percent to 49 percent. Over 15,000 same-sex couples live in Arizona, which has had a 649% increase of these couples in the last 16 years. State advocacy organizations are hard at work promoting fairness and the freedom to marry in Arizona.
WHERE YOU CAN GO TO GET INVOLVED OR LEARN MORE:
Equality Arizona
Equality Arizona is the state's largest LGBT civil rights organization working to secure, protect and defend the rights and welfare of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in Arizona.
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LEGISLATIVE STATUS IN ARIZONA:
Your Community—Arizona
Human Rights Campaign (HRC)
HRC presents resources, news, and the current marriage and
relationship recognition laws in each state.
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PUBLICATIONS:
Arizona Census Snapshot
Using data from the U.S. Census Bureau, this report provides demographic and economic information about same-sex couples and same-sex couples raising children in Arizona.
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NEWS:
BLOG: The Politics of Anti-Marriage Amendments
Arizona became the first state in the union to defeat an anti-marriage amendment in 2006…Now legislators in the Arizona House appear poised to approve a measure to put another anti-marriage amendment on the ballot for 2008. Some of those legislators who are reportedly leaning towards approving the measure represent districts which voted against the 2006 proposal, bucking the wisdom of their own constituents.
Love conquers all, regardless of gender
Rekha Basu emotionally recounts her attendance at a marriage of a same-sex couple saying, “Love is full of surprises: intimacy and distance, control and vulnerability, security and jealousy. But sometimes the surprise is to the outside observer.”
Anti-marriage measure dealt blow
The Arizona state legislature undercut efforts to add an amendment banning marriage between gay couples when some representatives changed the measure to tie in expanded legal protections for domestic partners.
Study: Gay couples in AZ lack resources
Gay and lesbian couples in Arizona generally make less money, are less likely to own a home and have fewer resources to raise children than their married counterparts, according to a new study by the Williams Institute at the University of California Los Angeles. The results of the study being conducted state by state are shattering many long-held stereotypes.
Staying on message brought AZ together
Equality NY
February 19, 2007
While nearly 90 percent of voters made their decisions a full two months before Election Day, the poll provided solid evidence that Arizona Together effectively targeted the remaining 10 percent of the electorate. It proved to be the critical difference. Seventy-nine percent of voters knew the amendment dealt with marriage, but 59 percent also knew it would "take away" domestic partnership benefits provided by local governments. The latter had the highest correlation with the vote.
Pearce puts stop on bill against same-sex unions
Arizona Republic
January 18, 2007
Two months after Arizona voters became the first in the nation to reject an amendment for the state Constitution to ban same-sex marriages, a bill that would put the issue before voters again in 2008 is now being called a mistake by its sponsor.
Retiring Congressman speaks up about marriage
Retiring Republican Arizona Rep. Jim Kolbe says the GOP's opposition to same-sex marriage is "a terrible mistake" and that opposition to the unions is on the decline. Kolbe, who is stepping down after 22 years in Congress, told the Tucson Citizen his party has given too much power over its direction to social conservatives.
Another tactic in fighting discriminatory marriage initiatives
Washington Post
November 20, 2006
The campaign against the Arizona measure, Proposition 107, avoided almost any mention of gay and lesbian couples, except in small liberal pockets of the state. Instead, the message was about the section of the measure that would have banned government agencies from recognizing civil unions or domestic partnerships. That apparently struck home in the state's sizable senior-citizen enclaves, where many older couples do not marry because their retirement income would be affected.
Election 2006 exit polls in AZ show demographics of vote
CNN
November 17, 2006
Election polls in AZ show who voted for Prop 107 and who voted against it.
OPINION: Let AZ gay people pursue life, liberty and happiness
Ahwatukee Republic
October 18, 2006
It's embarrassing to remember how I wanted gays to just keep "it" to themselves. I wasn't a bad person for having these thoughts. I just never thought about it from any other perspective than my own. But from an American viewpoint, my old perspective was wrong.
Tempe police, firefighter groups oppose anti-gay proposition
The Business Journal of Phoenix
October 11, 2006
The Tempe Officers Association and Tempe Firefighters Association have taken a stand against AZ's Proposition 107. The ballot question would prohibit gay & lesbian couples from marriage and bar governments from offering benefits and health insurance to unmarried couples both gay and non-gay.
OPINION: Please reject Proposition 107 and make a stand for all families
Arizona Daily Star
August 28, 2006
A doctor writes in agreement with the Pima County Pediatric Society, the Arizona Public Health Association and the Arizona Psychological Association, who have each passed resolutions against the proposed amendment.
Republicans hustle to oppose anti-gay union plan
Tucson Citizen
August 28, 2006
Tucson Mayor Bob Walkup, Republican, and Democratic Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon have come out against the "Protect Family" amendment, as has Republican gubernatorial candidate Mike Harris. Harris goes so far as to say the mayors have joined his opposition.
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Williams Institute
December 2007
Using data from the U.S. Census Bureau, this report provides demographic and economic information about same-sex couples and same-sex couples raising children in Arizona.
Read families’ stories about how marriage discrimination affects everyday life. These stories communicate, in concrete ways, how the exclusion of same-sex couples from marriage hurts families and helps no one.
Start in The Marriage Basics to get short answers to your big questions about the freedom to marry, and learn more about the protections and responsibilities of marriage, the historical background for this civil rights movement, why separate is not equal, and so much more.
