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Voters strike down gay marriage ban
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Voters on Tuesday appear to have made Arizona one of the first states in the nation to reject a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriages.
Proposition 107, known as Protect Marriage Arizona, appeared to be headed for failure after most ballots were counted.
“I’m optimistic that the trend is going our way,” state Representative Kyrsten Sinema, D-Phoenix, who was also chairman of the anti-Prop. 107 campaign.
Although gay marriage is already illegal in Arizona, the measure would have amended the state’s constitution to define marriage as between only one man and one woman.
But opponents said the measure would have hurt many heterosexual unmarried couples as well, because it would have prevented local governments from providing the same benefits to employees’ domestic partners as they do their married workers.
Currently Tempe, Scottsdale, Tucson and Pima County offer domestic partnership benefits for unmarried couples.
Supporters of the measure said it would have provided further protection against “activist judges” who want to legalize same-sex marriages.
They pointed to a ruling last month by the New Jersey Supreme Court that opened the door to gay marriage. The court gave the state Legislature 180 days to craft a law offering homosexuals the right to marry or offer something similar.
Supporters did not concede the measure’s defeat as of press time.
Seven other states also voted Tuesday on similar constitutional bans against same-sex marriage.
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