Same-sex marriage has been legal in Arizona since October 17, 2014. The U.S. state had denied marriage rights to same-sex couples by statute since 1996 and by an amendment to its State Constitution approved by voters in 2008. On October 17, Judge John W. Sedwick ruled in two lawsuits that Arizona's ban on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional, and enjoined the state from enforcing its ban, effective immediately. Attorney General Tom Horne said the state would not appeal that ruling, and instructed county clerks to comply and issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
Several Arizona cities and towns continue to provide civil unions or domestic partnerships to same-sex couples, offering a subset of the rights and benefits of marriage. Bisbee was the first city to establish civil unions for same-sex couples on June 4, 2013, followed by Tucson later that same month.
Legal history Restrictions Statute In 1975, the Arizona State Legislature passed an emergency bill defining marriage as "a union between a man and a woman" after the Arizona Supreme Court invalidated a marriage license issued to two men by a county clerk in Phoenix.(11 January 1975). County Seeks Action To End a Marriage, Arizona Daily Sun (Associated Press story)(17 January 1975). Homosexual charged with lying under oath, The Arizona Republic(23 March 1975). Homosexuals' Marriage Ruled Illegal by Court, Yuma Daily Sun
In 1996, Arizona state legislators passed a ban on same-sex marriage and the recognition of same-sex marriages performed outside of the state. Governor Fife Symington, whose victory in the 1994 election was based in part on campaigning against his opponent's, Eddie Basha Jr., support for same-sex marriage, signed the bill into law.
Arizona statutes still contain a same-sex marriage ban, as well as a ban on recognizing same-sex marriage that are contracted outside of Arizona. The statutory ban is unenforceable due to Obergefell v. Hodges, and the ban on recognition of same-sex marriage contracted outside of Arizona is unenforceable due to the passage of the Respect for Marriage Act in 2022.
Constitution Arizona voters have twice considered amendments to the Constitution of Arizona that would deny marriage rights to same-sex couples. On November 7, 2006, voters defeated Proposition 107, a state-initiated constitutional amendment that would have banned same-sex marriage and any legal status similar to marriage, by a margin of 48.2% to 51.8%, departing from the national trend that saw seven other states approve similar constitutional amendments the same day.
On May 12, 2008, the Arizona House of Representatives voted 33 to 25 in favor of Proposition 102, a constitutional amendment which defined marriage in Arizona as "the union of one man and one woman". The Arizona Senate passed the amendment 14–11 on June 25, 2008. On November 4, 2008, Arizona voters passed Proposition 102 by a vote of 56.2% in favor to 43.8% against.SCR1042 Unlike the failed Proposition 107, Proposition 102 did not ban civil unions.
On June 17, 2013, Equal Marriage Arizona filed an initiative to place on the November 2014 ballot an amendment that would substitute a gender-neutral definition of marriage in place of the one added to the State Constitution in 2008. It needed to gather 259,213 valid signatures by July 3, 2014, to have the initiative appear on that November's ballot.Equal Marriage Arizona The group suspended its efforts in September 2013, announcing that "The various LGBT advocacy groups in the state and nationally announced they weren't going to throw their support behind the initiative. Without their help, we aren't able to do it." Other groups contended that 2016, a presidential election year, would have proven a better opportunity, but no initiative was placed on the ballot that year.
Lawsuits
Federal cases On January 6, 2014, in Connolly v. Roche, originally Connolly v. Brewer and later Connolly v. Jeanes, four same-sex couples filed a class-action lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona seeking to have Arizona's definition of marriage ruled unconstitutional. Two of the plaintiff couples had married in California and two had adopted children through Arizona's public foster-care system. The amended complaint named as defendants three county court clerks acting in their official capacities and added two couples from the Flagstaff area and one couple from the Tucson area for a total of seven couples. On March 13, Lambda Legal filed a lawsuit, Majors v. Horne, in the same court on behalf of seven same-sex couples and a widow and a widower, each the surviving spouse of a same-sex couple. Several of the couples were the parents of minor children and most had married in other states, including California, Iowa, Minnesota, New Mexico, New York, and Washington. On September 12, U.S. District Judge John W. Sedgwick ordered that the state record a death certificate for plaintiff George Martinez as the husband of Fred McQuire.
On October 17, 2014, U.S. District Judge John W. Sedwick, ruling in both cases, declared Arizona's ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional and enjoined the state from enforcing its ban, effective immediately. The Arizona Attorney General, Tom Horne, said the state would not appeal the ruling and instructed county clerks to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples: "Effective immediately, the clerks of Arizona county Superior Courts cannot deny a marriage license to any otherwise eligible licensees on the grounds that the license permits a marriage between persons of the same sex." While Horne disagreed with the court decision, he said "it would be unethical for me to file an appeal that would have no chance of success." Governor Jan Brewer also said she opposed the ruling, stating that it "thwarted the will of the people". Sedwick said he was bound by recent decisions of the Ninth Circuit in Sevcik v. Sandoval and Latta v. Otter: "The Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit recently ruled that substantially identical provisions of Nevada and Idaho law that prohibit same-sex marriages are invalid because they deny same-sex couples equal protection of the law, the right to which is guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States. This court is bound by decisions of the Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit." He also said that any appeal by state officials to the Ninth Circuit would be unsuccessful. The American Civil Liberties Union welcomed the court ruling, "Today's ruling brings security to thousands of families in Arizona. It's a moment to be celebrated. Equal protection of the law is one of the fundamental principles that allows our country to thrive and evolve." The state's Roman Catholic bishops said the decision "reflects a misunderstanding of the institution of marriage", and Cathi Herrod, president of the Center for Arizona Policy, said she was "heartbroken", "We mourn the loss of a culture and its ethical foundation. We mourn a culture that continues to turn its back on timeless principles." The editorial board of The Arizona Republic, responded, "We will soon find out if the institution of marriage can withstand the flood of loving couples who wish to formalize their relationship and avail themselves of all the legal protections heterosexual couples have long taken for granted. We expect it will do just fine. It hasn't suffered in any of the 30 other states where gays and lesbians now unite in matrimony. Oh, there will be those who lash out at judges who uphold constitutional principles over popular passions. There will be those who insist that 'God still ordains marriage to only be the union of one man and one woman,' as Center for Arizona Policy President Cathi Herrod did this morning in an email blast that promises to 'redouble our efforts to rebuild a culture of marriage.' They are free to do so. Churches can continue to decide who they will marry. That is their constitutional right. ..."
The Maricopa County Clerk's Office quickly began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. The first couple to receive a license were Karen Bailey and Nelda Majors, plaintiffs in Majors and a couple for 56 years, on Friday, October 17 immediately after Attorney General Horne instructed county clerks to comply with the district court's rulings. City judges in Phoenix performed several marriage ceremonies in Mayor Greg Stanton's conference room Friday afternoon, with Stanton passing out banana butter cream cake to the newlywed couples.
On November 18, state officials announced they would appeal the rulings to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The state solicitor, Robert Ellman, said the state hoped to avoid paying the original plaintiffs' attorneys' fees should the U.S. Supreme Court uphold bans on same-sex marriage. On December 1, all parties asked the court to suspend proceedings pending action by the U.S. Supreme Court in a similar case from the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. The Ninth Circuit agreed to that request the next day, suspending proceedings until March 25, 2015. Both appeals were rejected in September and December 2015, respectively. The state was ordered to pay $200,000 in the Connolly case and $300,000 in the Majors case in attorneys' fees for the plaintiffs.Same-sex marriage didn't come cheap in Arizona azcentral, December 18, 2015Arizona to pay $200,000 to lawyers who won gay marriage case Arizona Capitol Times, September 30, 2015
State cases On April 13, 1994, the Pima County Superior Court ruled in Callender v. Corbett against a group of same-sex couples who had challenged the state's ban on same-sex marriages, citing that any change in marriage law was a matter for the Arizona Legislature to deal with. The plaintiffs filed an appeal, but later dropped it. On July 7, 2003, Harold Donald Standhardt and Tod Alan Keltner sued the state in Standhardt v. State of Arizona in the Maricopa County Superior Court, alleging that the state's ban on same-sex marriages violated the due process clauses of the federal and state constitutions. The Arizona Court of Appeals ruled against the couple on October 8, 2003, and the Arizona Supreme Court declined to review the case on May 25, 2004.
On August 13, 2014, the Arizona Court of Appeals ruled that the state's constitutional and statutory bans on same-sex marriage did not prevent the trial court from granting a divorce in a case, Beatie v. Beatie, in which one of the spouses was a transgender individual and had been married in a jurisdiction which had recognized their marriage as consisting of the union of one man and one woman.
Developments after legalization On June 26, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Obergefell v. Hodges that the Due Process and Equal Protection clauses of the U.S. Constitution guarantees same-sex couples the right to marry. The decision legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide in the United States. Following the overturning of Roe v. Wade in June 2022 by the U.S. Supreme Court, Governor Doug Ducey said he was "not interested" in revisiting the issue of same-sex marriage.
Native American nations Same-sex marriage is legal on the reservations of the Ak-Chin Indian Community, the Colorado River Indian Tribes, the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation, the Pascua Yaqui Tribe, the Salt River Pima–Maricopa Indian Community, the San Carlos Apache Tribe, the White Mountain Apache Tribe, and the Yavapai–Apache Nation. It is explicitly prohibited in the Gila River Indian Community, which passed a motion banning same-sex marriages following the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges in June 2015, and the Navajo Nation, following the passage of the Diné Marriage Act in 2005. A bill to legalize same-sex marriage was introduced to the Navajo Nation Council by Delegate Eugene Tso of Chinle in July 2022.
Two-spirit marriages