By Beth DeFalco, The Arizona Republic
State government is stepping out of Arizona’s bedrooms.
In a surprise move Tuesday, Gov. Jane Hull ignored pleas from thousands of
constituents and signed into law a bill that repeals a ban on sodomy, oral sex
and cohabitation.
The measure also clears the way for heterosexual couples to claim a live-in
partner as a dependent under certain circumstances.
"At the end of the day, I returned to one of my most basic beliefs
about government: It does not belong in our private lives," Hull wrote in
a one-page letter explaining her move.
The repeal of the state’s sex laws sparked more than 6,000 calls and
letters to Hull’s office urging a veto. By comparison, she received about
3,600 requests to sign it.
"Those laws set a standard that favored marital relations over
cohabitation and same-sex relationships in our state," said a
disappointed Cathi Herrod, lobbyist for the Center for Arizona Policy, an
organization that opposed the repeal.
Conservative state Sen. David Peterson, R-Mesa, said this may not be the
end of the issue. He said he will explore putting it before voters in a
referendum.
