Arizona
voters
narrowly
defeated
a
state
constitutional
amendment
banning
same-sex
marriage,
becoming
the
first
state
in
the
country
to
reject
such
a
measure.
Some
51.4
percent
of
those
who
voted
rejected
the
measure
and
48.6
supported
it,
with
2,208
of
the
state’s
2,209
precincts
reporting,
according
to
unofficial
results
from
the
Arizona
Secretary
of
State’s
office
on
Wed.
Proposition
107
would
have
banned
gay
marriage
and
prohibited
granting
unmarried
couples
any
legal
status
similar
to
marriage.
“I
don’t
think
it’ll
make
a
difference
when
all
of
the
ballots
are
counted,
we’ve
won.
I’m
really
proud
to
be
in
Arizona
right
now,”
said
Kyrsten
Sinema,
chair
of
Arizona
Together
and
a
Democratic
state
legislator.
Sinema
estimated
her
organization
spent
about
$1.5
million
on
the
campaign
to
defeat
the
measure.
The
Human
Rights
Campaign,
a
national
gay
political
group,
contributed
approximately
$125,000
to
Arizona
Together,
and
“helped
leverage
an
additional
$70,000,”
according
to
an
HRC
press
release.
Joe
Solmonese,
HRC
president,
hailed
the
Arizona
results,
but
added
it
takes
time
to
achieve
marriage
equality
for
gay
men
and
lesbians.
“In
this
modern
day
world,
we
get
a
little
impatient
about
how
long
this
awesome
civil
rights
struggle
will
take,”
he
said.
“This
is
the
civil
rights
struggle
of
our
time.
This
is
a
decade-long-or-more
struggle.”
Solmonese
said
he
believes
Tuesday’s
vote
in
Arizona
shows
gay
activists
are
making
strides
in
winning
equality.
“Is
this
Arizona
victory
the
next
turning
point
in
that
very
long
march
to
equality?
I
think
it
might
be,”
he
said.
‘Targeted,
smart
campaign’
Solmonese
said
opponents
of
the
measure
in
Arizona
ran
a
“very
targeted,
smart
campaign”
and
were
led
by
“sophisticated,
political
people.”
Sinema
said
Arizona
Together
stayed
focused
on
the
campaign,
ignoring
“personal
attacks”
from
social
conservative
groups
who
supported
the
measure.
Calls
to
Cathi
Herrod,
spokesperson
for
Protect
Marriage
Arizona,
a
conservative
group
based
in
Phoenix
that
supported
the
ban,
were
not
returned.
Herrod’s
group
was
backed
by
Focus
on
the
Family.
Through
a
spokesperson,
Focus
on
the
Family
officials
declined
an
interview
request.
Arizona’s
same-sex
marriage
amendment
was
one
of
eight
that
appeared
on
ballots
Nov.
7.
Similar
measures
were
approved
in
Colorado,
Idaho,
South
Carolina,
South
Dakota,
Tennessee,
Virginia
and
Wisconsin.
“We
were
not
able
to
defeat
the
amendment,
and
this
is
very
troubling
for
many
families
in
Wisconsin,”
Mike
Tate,
campaign
manager
for
Fair
Wisconsin,
said
in
a
prepared
statement.
Although
59
percent
of
voters
supported
Wisconsin’s
measure
with
41
percent
opposing
it,
Tate
said
he
remains
optimistic
about
the
future.
“We
cannot
ignore
the
fact
that
we
have
laid
the
foundation
for
long-term
change
in
Wisconsin,”
he
said.
A
total
of
27
states
now
have
constitutional
amendments
banning
same-sex
marriage.
The
defeat
of
the
Arizona
amendment,
coupled
with
smaller
margins
of
victory
in
some
states
that
approved
the
measures,
led
gay
rights
groups
to
predict
a
shifting
tide
on
marriage
rights
for
gay
men
and
lesbians.
“It’s
a
true
victory
for
our
community,”
said
Matt
Foreman,
executive
director
of
the
National
Gay
&
Lesbian
Task
Force.
“We’ve
been
waiting
for
a
breakthrough
state,
and
Arizona
is
that
breakthrough.”
NGLTF
didn’t
contribute
money
to
the
fight
in
Arizona,
Foreman
said.
Foreman
points
to
returns
in
Virginia,
South
Dakota,
Colorado
and
Wisconsin
that
reached
more
than
40
percent
opposition
this
year,
and
topping
the
same
mark
in
Oregon
and
Michigan
in
2004,
as
examples
of
changing
attitudes
nationally
toward
same-sex
marriage.
Solmonese
agreed
the
results
signify
the
start
of
a
trend
in
accepting
gay
men
and
lesbians.
Noting
the
generally
closer
votes
this
year
than
in
2004,
he
said
he’d
always
expected
votes
to
“ebb
and
flow”
on
the
issue,
but
thinks
the
nation
is
now
seeing
the
beginning
of
a
flow
back
in
a
positive
direction.
“We’re
not
talking
about
pushover
states
here,”
Foreman
said.
“I
think
we’ve
made
significant
progress
in
the
last
two
years.
It’s
clear
that
voters
are
moving
rapidly
in
support
of
same-sex
marriage.
It’s
only
a
matter
of
time.”
Tim
Wildmon,
president
of
the
conservative
American
Family
Association,
said
in
a
prepared
statement
that
Arizona
is
only
one
of
27
states.
“We
are
disappointed
in
the
vote
with
Arizona,”
Wildmon
said.
“We
are
pleased
that
seven
out
of
eight
states
voted
for
traditional
marriage.
The
score
is
still
27
states
having
passed
the
Marriage
Amendment,
only
one
voted
against
traditional
marriage.”
Dan
Pinello,
a
gay
government
professor
at
City
University
of
New
York
and
author
of
“America’s
Struggle
for
Same-Sex
Marriage,”
said
support
for
gay
rights
improved
more
across
the
board
than
in
2004.
“It
wasn’t
the
national
devastation
we
experienced
on
the
issues
two
years
ago,”
Pinello
said.
“It
was
more
of
a
mixed
bag,
which
is
an
improvement.”
