PHOENIX — The Arizona Supreme Court ruled Aug. 31 that a proposed constitutional marriage amendment could appear on the November ballot, rejecting arguments by amendment opponents that the initiative violates the state constitution. Arizona is the eighth state officially to place a marriage amendment on the fall ballot, joining Colorado, Idaho, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia and Wisconsin.
The Arizona amendment was placed on the ballot via a signature drive, although opponents filed suit in July, arguing that the proposal violates the state constitutional ban on amendments covering more than one subject. The amendment would ban both “gay marriage” and Vermont-style civil unions. But the Arizona Supreme Court, in a two-sentence order signed by Chief Justice Ruth V. McGregor, affirmed an Aug. 10 decision of a lower court judge, who also had upheld the amendment as constitutional. The high court — handing down a quick decision with the election just two months away — said it would “issue a written decision in due course.” The amendment is known as Proposition 107.
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