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.
Unfortunately, Arizona faced another attempt at writing anti-marriage discrimination into their state constitution on the November 2008 ballot, and this time lost.
Status: Anti-Relationship Recognition Constitutional Amendment
Groups Actively Working on Marriage
Equality Arizona: 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
Blog Posts Related to Arizona
Op-Ed: A gay agenda for everyone
Dan Savage discusses why he believes President Obama should address gay rights - specifically marriage equality - in his State of the Union speech this week.
Nuns blast bishops for their opposition to the freedom to marry
An organization of American Catholic nuns has denounced the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops for reiterating its opposition to legalizing marriage for same-sex couples at its annual meeting in Baltimore this week while remaining silent on anti-gay bullying and gay teen suicide.
Voice for Equality: Joe Shirley Jr.
Navajo President Joe Shirley, Jr. received Equality Arizona’s Barry Goldwater Human Rights Award for speaking out against and vetoing the discriminatory Diné Marriage Act of 2005 that banned marriage for same-sex couples on the Navajo reservation.
Resources Related to Arizona
Southern Poverty Law Center: 18 Anti-Gay Groups and Their Propaganda
The Southern Poverty Law Center provides a detailed listing of anti-gay groups know for their dangerous propaganda aimed at lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.
Results from Ballot Measures in AZ, AR, CA, CT and FL
Find results for states with anti-gay ballot measures in the 2008 election.
Arizona Census Snapshot
Demographic and economic information about same-sex couples and same-sex couples raising children in Arizona.