Arizona Will Try To Ban Marriage — Again

[Sourced from an article in The Arizona Republic]

In the final hours of one of the longest AZ state legislative sessions on record, state senators approved a measure sending a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage to the fall ballot.

The long-anticipated vote came just before adjournment and followed hours of angry, raucous debate in which the legislative rule book was used as a weapon to both stall the vote (Democrats) and cut short debate (Republicans). Senators on both sides of the aisle and of the issue lamented a meltdown in the higher chamber, as most of the day's work was scrapped so that the marriage amendment could be voted upon while key senators were present.

After the vote, conservative activists rejoiced that voters would get a chance to vote on the issue this fall. A similar measure, which also banned governments from offering benefits to employees' domestic partners, gay or straight, failed at the polls in 2006.

Long fight over marriage

Supporters pushed a vote on the measure, SCR 1042, on Wednesday in the Senate, but it went down in defeat, as a key supporter Sen. Karen Johnson, R-Mesa, was out of town. But they succeeded in a motion authorizing the measure to be reconsidered.

Johnson arranged to be back for the vote Friday and another absent conservative, Sen. Pamela Gorman, R-Anthem, flew back into town for the day's votes, giving supporters the 16 votes necessary to pass the referendum.

With that vote looming, Democratic opponents staged a filibuster, explaining and re-explaining votes on bills and amendments. An amendment to a vehicular bill that would bar license plate covers, dominated the sometimes-hostile debate for hours.