Before adjourning sine die at 10:09 p.m. tonight, the Arizona Legislature voted to refer to the ballot the constitutional amendment defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman (SCR 1042). With this action, Arizona voters will now have the ability to determine the definition of marriage - not the courts or even a future legislature.

We are grateful to all of the legislators who helped pass this referendum and to all of the people who sent e-mails of support through our website.

It should also be noted that just prior to the marriage debate, the primary sponsor of the partial birth abortion ban (SB 1048) was invited to meet with the Governor to discuss this bill. It was widely known that if this senator were to leave the floor when the marriage amendment was being voted on it would fail, so she stayed on the floor and it passed.

Unfortunately, the Governor apparently used this opportunity to once again veto the new partial birth abortion bill despite the fact that it met her previously stated objections. In fact, the new veto message that came down shortly after the marriage vote does not even recognize the amendments that were made to conform to her previously stated objections.

A comprehensive final update on the legislative session that will discuss these issues and many more will be prepared as soon as the Governor acts on the final pieces of legislation.

Please feel free to forward this message and encourage the people you know to sign up for these free    updates at www.azcatholicconference.org so that we can continue to expand our influence on matters of importance to the Catholic Church.