Republican
lawmakers on Monday proposed asking voters in November to
amend the Arizona constitution to ban same-sex marriage in
the state, which was the first to turn down such a
measure.
The proposal was
backed by 16 of 30 state senators, and an identical
proposal was introduced in the house. Both chambers would
have to approve the measure in a vote for it to be
included on the ballot.
Under the
amendment, ''only a union of one man and one woman shall be
valid or recognized as a marriage in this state.'' The
proposal comes after Arizona voters narrowly rejected
a similar measure in November 2006.
The previous
measure included the same definition but also contained
wording that was interpreted as prohibiting government
recognition of civil unions or domestic partnerships.
Seven other states approved amendments that day.
Opponents of the
2006 measure in Arizona focused much of their campaign
on the additional wording's reach. A leading backer of both
measures said the new one should be considered a
''consensus measure'' because it is intended solely to
bar recognition of same-sex marriage.
''This amendment
is about bringing Arizonans together on an issue
enjoying widespread agreement -- that marriage is a union of
one man and one woman,'' said Cathi Herrod, president
of the Center for Arizona Policy, an advocacy group
for social conservatives.
Arizona already
has a state law that defines marriage as a union between
a man and a woman. That law withstood a 2003 court
challenge, but supporters of an amendment said
changing the constitution would provide a strong legal
shield.
State
representative Kyrsten Sinema, a Phoenix Democrat who led
the opposition campaign to the 2006 measure, said she
opposes the new proposal.
''I don't think
it's needed. I don't think it's necessary,'' she said.
''We've already had this fight a couple of times.''
The ballot
measure proposal comes as a state commission prepares to
review rule changes proposed by the administration of
Democratic governor Janet Napolitano that would
provide health care and other employee benefits to the
domestic partners of state government employees and
retirees, no matter their gender. (Paul Davenport, AP)
