Tempe, Arizona is considering an
ordinance which seeks to recognize gay and lesbian couples with civil
unions.
According to The
Arizona Republic, the Tempe City Council discussed the
proposal at its private executive session on Thursday.
The move comes after Bisbee, Arizona, a
small former mining community-turned-artist's haven of 5,600 people,
defied Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne to become the first city in
Arizona to legalize such unions.
(Related: Bisbee
approves civil unions for gay couples; defies Arizona attorney
general.)
Tempe Councilman Kolby Granville, a
Democrat, asked for the council executive session on civil unions.
“Tempe tends to be a leader in issues
of civil rights,” Granville told the paper. “And, to me,
equality based on sexual orientation is one of those very same civil
rights.”
“History is on my side on this one,
or it certainly will be,” he said.
Granville, who is straight, said he
would prefer marriage for gay couples over civil unions. However,
that option is blocked by a 2008 voter-approved amendment to the
Arizona Constitution which defines marriage as a heterosexual union.
Colorado lawmakers recently approved
civil unions despite having a state amendment banning gay marriage.
Opponents of marriage equality believe
civil unions violate such amendments.