Gay-marriage ban supported by most voters

A new strategy -- and more money -- has apparently given supporters of a ban on gay marriage the victory that eluded them in 2006.

Preliminary results show the measure has the backing of more than 56 percent of voters. Strong support in Maricopa Count y -- and most of the rest of the state -- overcame the narrow vote against Proposition 102 in Pima County. That lead exists even with Pima County rejecting it.

Election results from the Secretary of State's office

Two years ago the measure backers placed on the ballot sought not only to outlaw same-sex marriage but also to bar any law that recognized civil unions. That proposal also would have banned governments from providing benefits such as health insurance to the domestic partners of their employees.

It was narrowly defeated.

This year the proponents of Proposition 102 decided to narrow their focus, sticking simply to the issue of who can marry.

“The goal was to make the proposal really clear,” said Kelly Molique, a spokeswoman for the pro-102 campaign.

She said that, in turn, led to the other key difference between the 2006 and 2008 races: money.

In 2006, foes outspent proponents. This year backers have built a war chest in excess of $7.6 million, relying heavily on contributions of $10,000 or more from individual families.

The two committees opposing the measure have collected less than 10 percent of that.

And the Center for Arizona Policy, which bills itself as promoting “family values,” has its own “get out the vote" effort aimed at getting those in support of the measure to the polls.

State Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Phoenix, said all that spending by proponents could not help but affect the outcome.

“Obviously, they had 15 times as much money as we did,” she said. “Advertising makes a difference.”

One thing that put foes at a fiscal disadvantage is the ballot fight in California, where a similar constitutional amendment is going to voters.

The big difference is that gay marriage is legal there -- or, at least, has been since earlier this year when that state’s Supreme Court overturned the statutory ban. National gay rights groups have funneled much of their money into the campaign against Proposition 8 in hopes of preserving a right that exists.

By contrast, gay marriage is already illegal in Arizona under state law, a law the state Court of Appeals upheld in a ruling the state Supreme Court declined to review.

That California court decision and a more recent one in Connecticut might have been a factor in another way in the outcome of the election here.

“It shows Arizonans that statutory law can be changed at any time," Molique said, meaning that a court could choose to interpret the state constitution to conclude that same-sex couples do have a right to wed.