Other articles by Daniel Scarpinato:

Gays can marry, says Calif. court; AZ ire rises AIMS bill with grade boost is approved Ariz. Republicans firmly anti-Obama Same-sex-marriage ban advances GOP-delegate vote a tap dance around rivalry Political Notebook by Daniel Scarpinato : Poky lawmakers have to live on less Pinal inks contract with Union Pacific Giffords No. 1 in mailings using U.S. funds Political Notebook by Daniel Scarpinato : Oien quits MADD after its overture to Glassman Gay-marriage-ban foes raise straight issue anew

Trades/Construction
arizona portland cement
maintenance electrician Health Care
Mountain View Retirement Village
LPN Health Care
Visiting Angels
Caregivers Trades/Construction
Paragon Electric
Electricians Driver/Transportation
Allied Building Products
Driver / Rooftop Loader General
Chapel Haven West
Program Staff Dental
Dr. John Carson, DDS, PC
Dental Asst/Treatment Coordinator

A renewed effort to strengthen the existing state ban on gay marriage is pressuring Arizona politicians to take an election-year stand on a subject some might rather avoid.

After the attention the effort to amend the state constitution sparked last week, even a prime backer, state Senate President Tim Bee, sought to downplay the measure during an interview Friday.

An identical bill to define marriage as being between a man and a woman is being pushed in the House by Speaker Jim Weiers, R-Phoenix. If the Legislature agrees, it will be on the November ballot.

"I think there's been a lot more to-do about that bill than is really warranted," said Bee, a Republican candidate for Congress in Southern Arizona's 8th District.

"It's one of many bills I've introduced, and certainly isn't the bill that's on my priority list of bills to be running. But it's a bill that was important to the caucus," he said.

Bee — one of all but three Republicans in the Legislature to sign on in support — referenced a failed effort in 2006, Proposition 107, which would have restricted civil unions and domestic-partnership benefits given by municipalities.

Bee said Proposition 107 "was extremely controversial and was very far-reaching. That measure affected many people in my district, of all walks of life.

"It was very broad, and I think there were a lot of problems with it," Bee said. But he wouldn't answer repeated question about whether he personally supported it, saying only: "There were concerns about how far-reaching it was. … I didn't go out and champion it."

However, in 2005 Bee did sponsor a bill identical to this year's offering.

Bee's honorary campaign chairman, former U.S. Rep. Jim Kolbe, said late last week that he planned to discuss the measure with Bee at a weekend meeting. Kolbe, the only openly gay GOP member of Congress until his retirement in 2006 from the seat Bee is seeking, said that since he had not seen the bill or talked to Bee, he couldn't comment other than to say he's opposed to the concept.

For Democrats and gay-rights activists, the issue is also touchy. Polls have shown most Arizonans oppose gay marriage. In 2006, opponents of Proposition 107 were able to effectively move the debate away from gay marriage to focus on how the bill would deny partner benefits to unmarried heterosexual couples.

With that element out of the picture, how aggressively opponents fight the effort this time remains to be seen. Their current argument centers on the amendment being "unnecessary."

"In 2006, the opponents said, 'If this was only about gay marriage, I probably wouldn't be here,' " said Cathi Herrod of the Center for Arizona Policy, which is pushing the latest effort. "So we believe that this is a consensus measure."

Bee's Democratic opponent, U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, was not available for comment, but her spokesman, C.J. Karamargin, said she is against a ban on gay marriage on both the state and federal levels. Asked specifically if she believes marriage is between a man and woman, he said she believes it's an "individual choice."

Bee and Giffords aren't the only ones approaching the issue cautiously.

Asked about it last week, Gov. Janet Napolitano wouldn't comment on the specific measure, saying only, "I've said many times before I believe marriage is between a man and a woman."

When the bill came up for a committee hearing on Thursday, two members of the committee — Reps. Kyrsten Sinema, D- Phoenix, and Eddie Farnsworth, R-Gilbert — agreed not to hear public testimony.

Sinema, who led the opposition to Proposition 107, said she didn't want to waste time on the bill because a similar amendment already had been rejected by voters. And Sinema said the amendment is particularly unnecessary because there is no effort to extend marriage to same-sex couples, since most voters don't support it.

A 1996 Arizona law already bars same-sex marriages. That statute was ruled constitutional in 2003 by the state Court of Appeals, a decision the Arizona Supreme Court left untouched.

Asked if that law should be changed to allow for gay marriage, Sam Holdren, public-affairs director for the Equality Arizona gay-rights group, said: "I don't know the answer to that. The reality is most Arizonans already know it's against the law."

And while Holdren called the measure a campaign tactic on Bee's part, Democratic consultant Carol Zimmerman said that in the moderate 8th District, being the lead sponsor may have been a risky move.

"I could see him signing on — but sponsoring it this year?" Zimmerman said. "I don't see what he gets from it."

Herrod disagreed, predicting that the measure will have broad-based support in Arizona.

"It's an amendment about where we agree, not where we disagree," she said.