There are now two lawsuits challenging Arizona’s ban on same-sex marriage, after a national gay rights group filed suit in federal court in Phoenix this week, on behalf of seven same-sex couples and the surviving spouses of two other couples.
Marc Solomon, National campaign director for the group Freedom to Marry, said there are more than 50 such cases in 28 states. But, he said, the arguments are not all that different across the country.
"They are similar, and they’re similar to the argument that was the majority opinion that the Supreme Court made last year when it struck down the so-called Defense of Marriage Act," said Solomon.
Solomon said that argument centers on the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution. He said since that ruling, same-sex marriage advocates have won seven rulings, although they have stayed pending appeal. His group’s goal is to get a national ruling on this issue from the high court, but, Solomon said even though there are suits around the country, Arizona’s does serve a purpose.
"As these cases sort of percolate up, there’s no way to predict exactly how they’ll play out, so we want to see, first and foremost, for the people of Arizona, for gay couples in Arizona, that this law is struck down, this constitutional amendment is struck down in Arizona," Solomon said.
Meanwhile, Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne said he will defend the law, arguing the issue is defining marriage, a task he said the legislature and the people have a right to perform.
