Gay marriage is now legal in Arizona. The state’s conservative attorney general Tom Horne said he won’t fight the federal court decision striking a state ban on same-sex unions any longer.
“The probability of the 9th Circuit reversing today’s District Court decision is zero. The probability of the United States Supreme Court accepting review of the 9th Circuit decision is also zero,” Horne said.
Following the announcement, gay couples lined up at the courthouse in downtown Phoenix to apply for licenses and get married.
David Larance and Kevin Patterson were among those suing to overturn the same-sex marriage ban.
“The best way I can describe it, is that it gives me such peace of mind,” Patterson told reporters.
Just a year ago things were very different in Arizona where residents and a majority of lawmakers passed laws that would have allowed businesses to deny services to gays and lesbians based on their religious beliefs.
Arizona governor Jan Brewer said that federal courts have thwarted the will of voters and eroded the state’s power to regulate laws.
“Simply put, courts should not be in the business of making and changing laws based on their personal agendas,” Brewer said. “It is not the role of the judiciary to determine that same-sex marriages should be allowed.”
The decision concludes two weeks of multiple court rulings across the nation with judges ruling in favor of same-sex marriage while conservative leaders, voters and traditional marriage advocates have continued to stand for the one-man, one-woman, biblical definition of marriage.
Recently the U.S. Supreme court refused to hear several cases and let stand rulings from three appeals courts that favor gay marriage – allowing it in Alaska, Arizona, Idaho and Nevada. Friday, in another lawsuit, a federal judge ordered Wyoming to allow same-sex marriage but stays the case until next Thursday in case the state wants to appeal.
Montana is the only state under the reach of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals where same-sex couples cannot legally wed.
Friday morning the federal government announced it is recognizing gay-marriage in seven new states and is extending federal benefits to spouses of LGBT employees – bringing federal recognition of gay and lesbian unions to 26 plus the District of Columbia. Overall, 30 states allow gay marriage with cases still pending in other parts of the nation.
The ruling from U.S. District Judge John Sedwick bars Arizona officials from enforcing a 1996 state law and a 2008 voter-approved constitutional amendment that outlawed gay marriage.
Lawyers challenged it saying it violated equal protection and due process rights of their clients thus wrongfully denying their clients marriage benefits like spousal pension benefits, spousal survivorship rights and the ability to make medical decisions for each other.
Arizona attorneys urged the 9th Circuit’s Sedwick to uphold the traditional definition of marriage as a union between a man and woman only. They argued voters and lawmakers enacted the ban to protect their right to define marriage for their community as well as to protect parents and children.
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