LGBT Issues Take Center Stage in Arizona

Last week, Arizona’s legislative leadership submitted a bill that would once-again ask Arizona voters to decide on an anti-gay constitutional amendment – something voters there rejected in 2006. Now, the conversation about this legislation and the legislation that preceded it seems to taking center stage both locally and nationally.

The new legislation has some Arizona politicians nervous, and has brought new attention to a candidate currently running for Congress. In an article in The Arizona Daily Star, Senate President Tim Bee, who is also a candidate for Congress in 2008, avoided questions asked by the reporter, and tried to downplay the importance of this legislation. Meanwhile, in another part of Arizona, Steve May, an openly gay former Republican state legislator and a leader in the effort to defeat the anti-gay constitutional amendment in 2006, has announced his intention to seek his party’s nomination for Congress in an open seat.

The presence of the new legislation also figures into the presidential race, since Senator John McCain (R-AZ) is the likely Republican nominee for president.  Throughout the primary season, his conservative credentials have been called into question.  McCain voted against the anti-gay federal marriage amendment, but supported the 2006 effort to amend Arizona’s state constitution.  In 2008, McCain will be prominent in a year when his home state might be the epicenter of conversations about LGBT issues throughout election 2008.

The media attention to LGBT-related issues – from the anti-gay constitutional amendment to the possibility of an openly gay Republican congressional candidate – will be intense in Arizona this year. Check back here for updates on Arizona and other local races and ballot measures.

Paul Karr is the Director of Media Field Strategy