A nascent group on Monday launched a
campaign to repeal Arizona's gay marriage ban put in place by voters
in 2008.
The group Equal Marriage Arizona
submitted paperwork with the Arizona Secretary of State's office for
an initiative which would allow gay couples to marry in the state. A
July 3, 2014 deadline must be met with 259,213 valid signatures from
registered voters to qualify for the November ballot.
The paperwork was filed by Phoenix
businessman Warren Meyer and retired attorney Erin Ogletree Simpson,
chairwoman of the Arizona chapter of the Log Cabin Republicans.
Meyer
told reporters that the group is proposing to “delete the words
'man and a woman' and inserting 'two persons'” in the Arizona
Constitution's definition of marriage.
“And then, in addition to that, we're
adding a second paragraph to that section where we would provide
religious protections,” he said.
“The attitudes of this state, of the
people of this state, have changed a lot,” Meyer added. “We
believe Arizonans are ready for equal marriage.”
“It's about equality,” Ogletree
Simpson said. “The one way to ensure equality is to have the same
kind of legally recognized rights, responsibilities and obligations.”
According
to a poll released last month, 55 percent of Arizonans favor
marriage equality, while 35 percent remain opposed.
At least 4 other states are looking to
repeal similar bans, including Ohio, Michigan, Oregon and Nevada.
The
earliest a proposed question in Nevada could reach voters is 2016.