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The Arizona primary election will be held on August 30, 2016. Reproductive health care access has been under attack, both nationally and statewide, but Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona has endorsed candidates who have shown strong commitment to reproductive justice. To acquaint you with our endorsed candidates, we are running a series called “Meet Our Candidates.” In order to vote in the primary election, you need to have been registered to vote by August 1. Missed the deadline? You can still register online for November’s general election. Make your voice heard in 2016!

[L]egislative District 18 sits just south of Phoenix, stretching west from Chandler to Ahwatukee. The 18th district is currently represented in the Senate by Jeff Dial, whose voting record belies a lack of support for contraception access — his vote for HB 2599 helped lay the groundwork to deny state Medicaid recipients the right to receive preventive health care and birth control from Planned Parenthood — as well as his opposition to abortion — as illustrated by his vote in favor of SB 1324, which put severe restrictions around the use of medication abortion, which don’t even comply with FDA regulations. In 2014, he voted in favor of SB 1062, which would have given businesses the right to discriminate against LGBTQ folks — or anyone else against whom they could claim a religious justification for discrimination.

“The Legislature should not be in the business of meddling with a woman’s relationship with her doctor.”

Sean Bowie seeks to oust current Sen. Jeff Dial from the Arizona Senate, and due to his outspoken support for reproductive justice and LGBTQ rights, Mr. Bowie has earned our endorsement. His website highlights the importance of recognizing LGBTQ rights in the state of Arizona, and he voices support for an employment non-discrimination act that would protect people from employment or housing discrimination, regardless of their sexual orientation. He also supports reproductive rights and Arizonans’ access to the full range of reproductive health services, as he explained to us in his interview.

After moving to Chandler during his childhood, Mr. Bowie graduated from Mountain Pointe High School and then Arizona State University, where he earned his bachelor’s degree with a double major in political science and history. Afterward, a stint in Pittsburgh saw him earn a master’s degree in public policy and management from Carnegie Mellon University. Prior to launching his Senate campaign, Mr. Bowie has put his energy behind education reform, health care access, and protecting Social Security. As an employee of Arizona State University, he works to expand needs-based financial aid, expanding access to higher education for all Arizonans.

Mr. Bowie generously took the time to answer our questions on July 19, 2016.

What kind of beneficial legislation would you like to see introduced, and why do you think it’s important to fight for it?

My first priority will be to improve our state’s education system. I will fight to restore education funding at both the K-12 and university levels above all else if elected. Another important priority is to pass a statewide comprehensive non-discrimination act to protect our LGBTQ community. Arizona is one of only 27 states that does not have an act in place, and it is past time that Arizona enacts a law that says we are open for business to all. We also must continue this inclusiveness into our schools by striking our shameful “no-promo-homo” law from the books. I will join my Democratic colleagues this year who fought on the Senate floor to get this done. Finally, one of the great advantages to having a tie or majority in the state Senate would be to stop the unconstitutional attacks on Planned Parenthood and focus on more important priorities, like the ones I outlined above. Continue reading →

Protesters advocate for marriage equality as the Supreme Court hears Hollingsworth v. Perry. Image: Victoria Pickering

June is often known as a big month for weddings. Last June, that was more true than ever as a political battle over the right to marry was in front of the Supreme Court.

In the spring and early summer of 2013 and the days and weeks leading up to the decision in Hollingsworth v. Perry, it was clear that no matter what that case decided about same-sex marriage, the public had decided in favor of marriage equality. Hollingsworth v. Perry challenged Proposition 8, a California same-sex marriage ban that was passed by voter initiative in 2008. The plaintiffs in the case charged that Proposition 8 violated the Constitution’s equal protection clause.

Arizona was the first state to defeat a ballot initiative against marriage equality, but it still doesn’t recognize same-sex marriage today.

Interest built as the case made its way through the U.S. District Court in San Francisco, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, and the Supreme Court. The attorneys challenging the ban were themselves a sign of the change taking place in the United States, as former rivals in the Bush v. Gore trial — the Supreme Court trial over the disputed 2000 presidential election — joined forces to challenge Proposition 8. David Boies, a Democrat who had represented Al Gore, joined Theodore Olson, a Republican who had represented George W. Bush.

Before agreeing to serve as counsel for the plaintiffs, Olson had been approached by backers of Proposition 8 to serve as their counsel. Olson declined on the grounds that the law was contrary to both his legal and personal views. However, a high-profile Republican had made the case that the tide was turning, and polling before the Hollingsworth decision provided proof in numbers. Support for marriage equality was growing across all major demographic sectors, and 14 percent of those polled by the Pew Research Center had switched from opposing to supporting marriage equality. A CBS News poll showed that a 53-percent majority now supported same-sex marriage. Alex Lundry, a data scientist who had worked on Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign, called it “the most significant, fastest shift in public opinion that we’ve seen in modern American politics.” At the same time, celebrities ranging from hip-hop artist Jay-Z to Baltimore Raven Brendon Ayanbadejo joined the fray as allies. Continue reading →

Tag Archives: ENDA

The Nation’s — and Arizona’s — Road to Marriage Equality