Arizona Couples Sue for Marriage Equality

The four same-sex couples say lack of marriage rights and recognition in the state is a violation of the U.S. Constitution.

Trudy Ring

Trudy Ring is The Advocate’s senior politics editor and copy chief. She has been a reporter and editor for daily newspapers and LGBTQ+ weeklies/monthlies, trade magazines, and reference books. She is a political junkie who thinks even the wonkiest details are fascinating, and she always loves to see political candidates who are groundbreaking in some way. She enjoys writing about other topics as well, including religion (she’s interested in what people believe and why), literature, theater, and film. Trudy is a proud “old movie weirdo” and loves the Hollywood films of the 1930s and ’40s above all others. Other interests include classic rock music (Bruce Springsteen rules!) and history. Oh, and she was a Jeopardy! contestant back in 1998 and won two games. Not up there with Amy Schneider, but Trudy still takes pride in this achievement.

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Trudy Ring

January 07 2014 2:13 PM EST

November 17 2015 5:28 AM EST

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Four Arizona same-sex couples have filed a suit in federal court seeking to strike down their state's constitutional provision limiting marriage to male-female couples.

The suit, filed Monday, names Arizona governor Jan Brewer, state attorney general Tom Horne, and Maricopa County Superior Court clerk Michael Jeanes as defendants, reports Phoenix radio station KTAR. Maricopa County includes Phoenix, the state's capital and largest city.

Two of the couples were married in California, but Arizona's constitution prevents the state from recognizing their marriages. Arizona voters in 2008 approved a constitutional amendment defining marriage exclusively as an opposite-sex union.

The suit contends that this amendment violates the U.S. Constitution and cites the Supreme Court's decision in Windsor v. U.S., invalidating the portion of the Defense of Marriage Act that kept the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages.

"We're saying, 'Look, follow that rationale and make the same declaration as to the law in Arizona,'" Shawn Aiken, one of the attorneys representing the couples, told The Arizona Republic. "It's that simple."

Two of the couples in the suit are raising adopted children, and the suit cites various hardships created by lack of marriage rights and recognition. "One of the important aspects of the lawsuit is to point out how unfair Arizona's refusal to recognize out-of-state marriages or allow in-state marriages, how that affects not just couples, but whole families, and the effect it has on children," Aiken told KTAR.