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)
