Same-sex marriage ban rejected in Arizona in historic first

News 2006-11-09 Same-sex marriage ban rejected in Arizona in historic first Rejected: Arizona same-sex marriage ban Arizona became the first state to defeat an amen

Arizona became the first state to defeat an amendment to ban same-sex marriage Tuesday, bucking a strong national trend by refusing to change its constitution to define marriage as a one-man, one-woman institution. The measure also would have forbidden civil unions and domestic partnerships.

''We knew all along that once voters were informed about the true impact…they would oppose this hurtful initiative,'' said Steve May, treasurer for Arizona Together, which organized opposition to the measure. ''They made the right decision.''

A total of eight states voted on amendments to ban same-sex marriage: Colorado, Idaho, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia, and Wisconsin approved them. Similar amendments have passed previously in all 20 states that have considered them.

Matt Foreman, executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, noted that the bans that succeeded won by much narrower margins, on average, than in the past. He said it was a sign that ''fear-mongering around same-sex marriage is fizzling out.''

Conservatives had hoped that ballot measures to ban same-sex marriage might increase turnout for Republicans, though the GOP had a rough night, losing control of the House of Representatives for the first time in 12 years, with the Senate majority still to be determined. (David Crary, AP)

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