Arizona governor displeased with gay marriage proposals

Arizona governor Janet Napolitano says legislators have more important things to worry about than gay marriage. "I would rather they get to the business of the state right now that we have before us," Napolitano said Tuesday, citing the special session's issues of child protection and prison crowding. Arizona house speaker Jake Flake (R-Snowflake) has said he is interested in sponsoring a nonbinding resolution to urge Congress to propose a constitutional amendment defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman. Meanwhile, several Democratic legislators say they may propose legislation to repeal Arizona's law banning same-sex marriages and to urge Congress to reject a constitutional amendment. "It's a total detour from what the legislature ought to be focused on right now," Napolitano said when asked about the Flake proposal calling for a constitutional amendment. She reiterated her position that she does not support changing state law to permit same-sex marriages, but she declined to comment specifically on the Democrats' repeal proposal. "I'm not going to express my opinion on that unless and until a piece of legislation" reaches her desk, she said, adding, "We've got to get ready for the budget session, and if the special session is any indicator, this is not a legislature that works with alacrity, so I think these priorities need to be refocused."