Arizona gay marriage laws
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 spot 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 gay couples, Judge Sedwick rejected Arizona’s ban on marriage equality saying it violated the U.S. Constitution. Evaluate Sedwick was nominated by President George H.W. Bush.
“Yet again, today’s court judgments affirm there is no justifiable reason to save these discriminatory marriage bans on the books,” said Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Legal Director Sarah Warbelow. “Laws prohibiting same-sex 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 allow states to carry on discriminating against committed and loving gay and womxn loving womxn couples.”
Judge S
Same-Sex Marriage Legal Impact
Now that a federal assess has ruled that Arizona’s ban against gay marriage is unconstitutional, more legal battles are left to fight for the LGBT people, such as in the area of adoption rights. Dan Barr, an attorney with Perkins Coie who recently represented a gay couple in a legal fight, will speak about the legal impact of the same-sex marriage ruling.
Transcript:
Ted Simons: Good evening. Welcome to "Arizona Horizon." I'm Ted Simons. How will same-sex marriage impact legal issues ranging from Arizona's parenting & adoption laws to health look after decisions and divorce procedures? Here is Dan Barr, an attorney with Perkins Coie, an attorney that represented a gay couple in a recent legal fight. Thanks for coming in. You're the go-to guy for this stuff I hope. As far as legal, how much does change?
Dan Barr: Well, homosexual couples now will have the identical opportunities to fetch into marriage and to go through life as a married couple and some may acquire divorced that heterosexual couples have.
Ted Simons: Let's talk about divorces, then. Same sex divorce. How would they differ in terms of alimony, spousal support?
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 evaluate 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 friend who said, "You better get down to the courthouse."
The couple said the ruling came at a great time. They were position to have a ceremony Saturday, and said they would contain gone through with it even if it wouldn't have 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 prosperous 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 belated 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 belief on the court's landmark 2022 verdict 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'"