SSM BAN INTACT IN ARIZONA: From the Arizona Republic

The Arizona Supreme Court slammed shut the door on same-sex marriage in the state Tuesday, refusing to consider the case of Don Standhardt and Tod Keltner, two gay Phoenix men who were denied a marriage license.

The state's high court issued no comment with its refusal.

The decision lets stand an Arizona Court of Appeals ruling that there is no fundamental right to same-sex marriage in either the U.S. or Arizona constitutions. ...

When Standhardt and Keltner filed suit, it raised many hopes and perhaps even more fears that Arizona would follow in the footsteps of Massachusetts and start issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

Like the Massachusetts case, the Standhardt legal argument was based on a clause in the Arizona Constitution stating that no citizens or businesses could be granted privileges or immunities that were denied to others.

On July 1, 2003, days after the U.S. Supreme Court knocked down anti-sodomy laws in Texas, Standhardt and Keltner applied for a marriage license at the Clerk of the Superior Court's Office in Phoenix. They were denied because Arizona law expressly forbids same-sex marriage.

A week later, they filed suit in the Arizona Court of Appeals, which upheld the clerk's decision. So Standhardt and Keltner petitioned the Arizona Supreme Court to hear the case, but that court refused and does not have to give reasons for doing so. ...

Because Ryan raised issues of federal law in his petition, he can now take the case to the U.S. Supreme Court.

When asked if he would, he answered, "That's a very big step, and I would have to consult with my co-counsel on the case. So I can't answer that yet."

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posted by Eve at 12:44 PM VOTE

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