June 2025 marks a decade since the U.S. Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage. The landmark 5-4 ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges resolved a long-standing national debate and brought together a conflicting patchwork of state laws.
Eight months before the SCOTUS decision, the Republican-dominated state of Arizona legalized same sex marriages, though the road to get there was rocky.
In 2006, Arizona voters turned down a measure that would prohibit same-sex marriage and civil unions. However, just two years later, a revised version of the proposal was brought before voters. The new bill defined that marriage in Arizona is only between a man and a woman.
Voters approved this measure with 56% in support, and it was enshrined in the state’s constitution.
Sue Wieger, 53, and Sheila Kloefkorn, 45, both of Tempe, are the first female couple (second couple) to line up at the Clerk of the Superior Court in Phoenix, Friday, October 17, 2014, in order to get marriage licenses.
But this was not the end of the road for this issue. In 2013, a church in Tempe, a couple who had moved from California, and a pro bono lawyer helped spark the legal fight that led Arizona to legalize same-sex marriage, months before the U.S. Supreme Court ruled nationwide.This week on The Gaggle, a politics podcast by The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com, host Mary Jo Pitzl is joined by Republic editor Shaun McKinnon and LGBTQ+ rights advocate Sheila Kloefkorn to look back at the events that led to Arizona in 2014 joining the states that legally recognize gay marriage, and cast forward on what challenges remain.
As a reporter, Shaun covered the stories surrounding the fight for marriage equality before it was legal. He gives historical context to the case and reminds listeners what Arizona’s political climate was like regarding same-sex marriage in 2013.
Sheila talks about advocacy work she did in the community, how it felt to be one of the first gay couples legally married in the state and how she’s feeling about the safety of marriage equality in the U.S.
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Abby Bessinger assisted on production and you can reach her at abby.bessinger@gannett.com.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Same-sex marriage in Arizona: The road to legalization and what’s next