Gay marriage legal in arizona
Arizona gay marriage legal; couples marry immediately
Arizona on Friday joined the historic tide legalizing the unions of same-sex couples that has swept the nation, expanding gay rights in a direction many never consideration they would see in their lifetimes.
Tearful couples, some with children in tow, lined up at clerks' offices around the declare 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 land have toppled laws banning same-sex couples from marrying, Arizona's law appeared doomed. A federal judge dominated Friday morning that Arizona's law 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 rule 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 same-sex couples.
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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. Determine Sedwick was nominated by President George H.W. Bush.
“Yet again, today’s court orders 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 consent states to endure discriminating against dedicated and loving same-sex attracted and lesbian 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 forbid 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 friend who said, "You surpass get down to the courthouse."
The couple said the decision came at a great time. They were set to have a ceremony Saturday, and said they would include gone through with it even if it wouldn't hold been legally commended 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 take place, legally I would be able to see (Katherine) in the hospital, she'd be abl
Ballot initiatives protecting marriage equality moving forward in some states
An increasing number of states are taking steps to enshrine protections for queer marriage in their constitutions accompanying a successful 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 offer same-sex couples the right to marry. But now, the Supreme Court’s 2015 decision legalizing homosexual marriage is being actively targeted by some conservative lawmakers. The Idaho House passed a resolution in late 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 notion on the court's landmark 2022 decision 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'"