Bisbee and Tucson advance civil union registries
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
After the City of Bisbee and interested parties got together with Attorney General Tom "banned for life by the SEC" Horne to discuss the city's attempt to set up a civil union registry, they appear to have worked out their differences and come to an agreemment on the scope of that program to avoid unnecessary litigation.
This week, the Bisbee council approved civil unions measure:
The Bisbee City Council voted Tuesday night to approve a new version
of a proposed local law allowing civil unions for same-sex couples.
The 5-2 vote makes Bisbee the first Arizona town to recognize civil unions.
The
council had voted May 21 to formally propose a scaled-back version of
the ordinance that would legalize civil unions for same-sex couples.
In
April, council members approved an earlier version of the measure that
sought to give people in civil unions the same benefits as those in
marriages.
But city officials decided to rewrite the measure after
Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne threatened to sue over provisions
that Horne said were in conflict with state law or went beyond the
city's authority.
Horne's office said he approves of Bisbee's new version of the ordinance and won't sue to try to block it.