Gay marriage legal in arizona
Marriage Equality Coming to Arizona
WASHINGTON– Today U.S. District Court Judge John Sedwick ruled against Arizona’s constitutional amendment banning marriage equality, making Arizona the latest state to see such a ban struck down in court since the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its historic marriage rulings last June. In Connolly v. Jeanes, brought by private counsel, and Majors v. Horne, brought by Lambda Legal, on behalf of same-sex couples, Judge Sedwick rejected Arizona’s ban on marriage equality saying it violated the U.S. Constitution. Decide Sedwick was nominated by President George H.W. Bush.
“Yet again, today’s court decrees affirm there is no justifiable reason to keep these discriminatory marriage bans on the books,” said Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Legal Director Sarah Warbelow. “Laws prohibiting homosexual couples from marrying serve no purpose other than to harm Americans who simply want to protect and provide for themselves and their families. Ultimately the U.S. Constitution does not let states to proceed discriminating against involved and loving homosexual and lesbian couples.”
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Arizona gay marriage legal; couples partner immediately
Arizona on Friday joined the historic tide legalizing the unions of same-sex couples that has swept the nation, expanding male lover rights in a direction many never thought they would spot in their lifetimes.
Tearful couples, some with children in tow, lined up at clerks' offices around the state to be among the first to get marriage licenses. Some brought along their clergy, hastily reciting their vows on courthouse steps. They had waited long enough, they said.
As rulings around the country own toppled laws banning same-sex couples from marrying, Arizona's law appeared doomed. A federal judge dictated Friday morning that Arizona's rule banning gay marriages was unconstitutional, but it wasn't official until Attorney General Tom Horne announced a few hours later that he would not appeal.
Legal experts say the fate of Arizona's law defining marriage as only between one man and one woman is now sealed. A ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court reinstating marriage bans is unlikely. The high court last week declined to take cases challenging laws in five states, in effect directing them to begin issuing licenses to queer couples.
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Gay Marriage in Arizona Legal; Tucson, Phoenix Couples Wed
AZPM Staff
Listen to AZPM's Fernanda Echavarri's indepth report:
AZPM's Zac Ziegler reports events at Pima County Courthouse:
Several same-sex couples in Tucson and Phoenix got married, hours after a federal judge Friday ruled Arizona's ban on gay unions is unconstitutional.
Jennifer Shelton and Katherine Harrison, who got a marriage license at the Pima County Courthouse today, had been planning their wedding for nearly two years.
They heard the news from a partner who said, "You improved get down to the courthouse."
The couple said the ruling came at a great time. They were set to have a ceremony Saturday, and said they would have gone through with it even if it wouldn't include been legally recognized in Arizona.
"We are getting married tomorrow, so when we found out this morning, we came down and made it legal," Shelton said. "If anywhere were to happen, legally I would be able to see (Katherine) in the hospital, she'd be abl
Ballot initiatives protecting marriage equality advancing in some states
An increasing number of states are taking steps to enshrine protections for same-sex marriage in their constitutions following a thriving round of ballot initiatives in the 2024 elections.
Voters in Hawaii, Colorado and California all voted last year to support ballot initiatives that changed their state constitutions to give same-sex couples the right to marry. But now, the Supreme Court’s 2015 decision legalizing same-sex marriage is being actively targeted by some conservative lawmakers. The Idaho House passed a resolution in behind January by a vote of 46-24 calling on the Supreme Court to reconsider its past marriage equality decision.
The Idaho resolution comes after Associate Justice Clarence Thomas expressed interest in revisiting the Obergefell v. Hodges same-sex marriage decision, should a future related court case arise, in his concurring view on the court's landmark 2022 judgment on Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization that overturned the federal right to abortion. He argued that any past "substantive due process decision is 'demonstrably erroneous'"