Arizona

PHOENIX -- The Arizona Senate on Wednesday passed a trio of bills that seek to lower property taxes for religious institutions and make it easier for some people to sue over the First Amendment, much to the chagrin of civil liberties and secular groups who claim Arizona lawmakers are violating the U.S. Constitution by favoring the faithful over non-believers. [ Read more → ]

BISBEE, Ariz. -- The Bisbee, Ariz., city council is moving forward with a revised version of an ordinance that would legalize civil unions for same-sex couples. [ Read more → ]

PHOENIX — An effort to allow people to sue over potential violations of religious liberty cleared the Arizona House of Representatives on Wednesday despite opposition from civil liberties groups who warn the measure will inspire waves of lawsuits over alleged First Amendment violations. [ Read more → ]

PHOENIX, Ariz. -- After years of beating the drums against same-sex marriage, a majority of Arizonans now say they support marriage equality. [ Read more → ]

PHOENIX -- Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne called city attorneys to his office Monday to give them advice on what they can include in civil union ordinances without running afoul of a state law banning same-sex marriage. [ Read more → ]

PHOENIX — The City Council in the southern Arizona community of Bisbee will rewrite a recently enacted civil union ordinance after being threatened with a lawsuit by the state Attorney General's office, which said the ordinance ran afoul of a state ban on same-sex marriage. [ Read more → ]

PHOENIX -- Matt R. Salmon, the gay son of U.S. Rep. Matt Salmon (R-Ariz.), says it's hard for him to understand why people "jump to the conclusion" that his father is anti-gay. [ Read more → ]

PHOENIX -- Another Arizona city may consider whether to approve civil unions that could include same-sex couples. The Tempe City Council plans late Thursday to meet behind closed doors to get legal advice on civil unions. [ Read more → ]

PHOENIX -- Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne will go to court to block the artists' community of Bisbee from implementing a newly approved ordinance recognizing civil unions for same-sex couples, his office said Wednesday. [ Read more → ]

BISBEE, Ariz. -- The city council in a former mining community-turned-artist's haven in rural southeastern Arizona voted Tuesday night to approve an ordinance to recognize civil unions for same-sex couples. [ Read more → ]

PHOENIX -- A transgender Arizona man whose divorce request was rejected after his marriage was declared invalid plans to keep trying to get his 9-year union dissolved, saying Tuesday that he wants the three children to whom he gave birth to know their parents' marriage was legitimate. [ Read more → ]

PHOENIX -- U.S. Congressman Matt Salmon says he isn’t ready to change his opinion on same-sex marriage, despite the fact that he has an openly gay son. [ Read more → ]

WASHINGTON — Republican Sen. Jeff Flake says it is "inevitable" that his party will see one of its own run for president while supporting gay marriage, but doesn't see himself "evolving" on the issue anytime soon. [ Read more → ]

PHOENIX -- An Arizona judge on Friday refused to grant a divorce for a transgender man who gave birth to three children after beginning to change his sex from female. [ Read more → ]

PHOENIX -- An Arizona House committee has voted to advance a new version of a bill that previously would have barred transgender people from using public bathrooms not associated with their birth gender. [ Read more → ]

PHOENIX -- Arizona lawmakers are set to consider a watered-down version of a bill that would have barred transgender people from using public bathrooms not associated with their birth gender. [ Read more → ]

PHOENIX — Arizona lawmakers delayed a scheduled debate over equal access rights after dozens of transgender people flooded the Arizona House of Representatives Wednesday to fight a proposed law that would have made it illegal for them to use the bathroom of their preferred gender. [ Read more → ]

BISBEE, Ariz. -- The town of Bisbee, Ariz., is poised to become the first municipality in Arizona to legalize civil unions for same-six couples. [ Read more → ]

PHOENIX — Arizona lawmakers have jumped in to the national debate over the rights of transgender people with a bill being debated Wednesday that would make it illegal for people to use public restrooms not associated with their birth gender. [ Read more → ]

PHOENIX -- The Phoenix City Council on Tuesday evening approved a measure to expand the city's anti-discrimination law to include protections for gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people in city contracts, housing, employment and public accommodations such as restaurants. [ Read more → ]