Same-sex marriage won’t be on 2014 ballot
Fundraising hurdles scuttle effort for now
Arizona voters won’t be asked next year whether the state should allow same-sex couples to marry, after a campaign to place an initiative on the November 2014 ballot imploded over disagreements among supporters of the measure and challenges raising money and gathering signatures.
But advocates of gay rights said they may try again in 2016.
Equal Marriage Arizona, which filed paperwork in June to gather signatures for the ballot measure, announced Monday that it will shut down its campaign.
“The various LGBT advocacy groups in the state and nationally announced they weren’t going to throw their
support behind the initiative,” said Equal Marriage Arizona co-chair Erin Ogletree Simpson, a retired Tucson attorney who chairs the Log Cabin Republicans of Arizona. “Without their help, we aren’t able to do it.”
Ogletree Simpson said there were differing opinions about strategy on when would be the best time to pursue a same-sex marriage initiative.
The advocacy groups thought it would be best to wait until 2016, which would give them two more years to sway voters and a presidential election year, which tends to draw more voters to the polls.
“They didn’t feel like Arizona was ready for equal marriage in 2014,” Ogletree Simpson said of the advocacy groups. “I’m just happy our effort has prompted a focus from the various groups to look at 2016 and start putting together a strategy.”
Arizona is among 38 states where gay marriage is not sanctioned. Voters in 2008 passed a measure defining marriage as a union only between one man and one woman.
The battle over rights for same-sex couples has taken center stage this year in Arizona and nationwide. The U.S. Supreme Court earlier this summer overturned a portion of the federal Defense of Marriage Act, allowing legally married same-sex couples equal access to numerous federal benefits, including tax breaks. Meanwhile, Bisbee became the first city in Arizona to legalize domestic partnerships.
Equal Marriage Arizona proposed redefining marriage as “a union of two persons.” They needed to collect 259,213 signatures from registered voters by July 3, 2014. Ogletree Simpson said about 9,000 signatures had been turned in to the group.
“The LGBT community is ready,” she said. “Anyone and everyone I talked to who wasn’t involved in advocacy leadership was excited and wanted to work. They are frustrated about the fact that they have to wait.”
But local advocacy leaders, who weren’t included in the planning of the Equal Marriage Arizona effort, said they weren’t confident in their chances this time and waiting two more years is the better political tactic.
“There has really been concern about strategy, support and fundraising,” said Sheila Kloefkorn, who serves on the national board of the Human Rights Campaign. “We know what the sting of defeat feels like, and we can’t afford another defeat. While support is high, it’s not quite what we would need it (to) be for 2014.”
American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona Executive Director Alessandra Soler said Equal Marriage Arizona should be recognized for taking the first steps.
“But we want to win,” she said. “We need a little more time to get out there and educate the public about why marriage matters. This now clears the way for what I think will be a more collaborative effort, possibly in 2016, that includes members of the faith community, businesses and people across the political spectrum.”
After Equal Marriage Arizona posted its announcement on its Facebook page Monday afternoon, more than two dozen people posted comments voicing disappointment and frustration.
“Delayed justice is no justice,” one person wrote.
Equality Arizona Chairwoman Rebecca Wininger said she recognizes the desire not to wait to pursue the initiative.
“As a gay woman, do I want to wait? Absolutely not,” she said. “I wish I could wave a magic wand and give us our rights that we deserve and we demand today, or tomorrow.”
But a defeat in 2014 would only have delayed the effort further, she said. Waiting until 2016, she said, gives them three years to improve the numbers and build a coalition that can win.
“Defeat is not a pathway to victory,” she said.
Advocacy leaders said they will soon begin a more aggressive publiceducation campaign.
The anti-gay-marriage groups are claiming victory, with the end of Equal Marriage Arizona.
“The so-called equal marriage campaign could not overcome the support for one-man and onewoman marriage,” Center for Arizona Policy President Cathi Herrod said in a statement. “Redefining marriage is a nonstarter today in Arizona.”
But Herrod said the battle will continue as both sides gear up for 2016.
“Our resolve to stand together for our families and our future must remain resolute,” she said.