HUFFINGTON
05.19.13
LOVE AND HATE
with an ordinance that granted as
many legal protections as a small
town could. Bisbee, for example,
owns a cemetery, so the ordinance
granted the same interment rights
to same-sex couples and their
families that the town gives to
heterosexual families. The ordinance also granted same-sex families the right to get family passes
at the public swimming pool, the
right to the same land-use permits, and — perhaps most significantly — visitation rights and
power of attorney to make medical decisions at the local hospital.
Other cities in Arizona have
granted certain rights to same-sex
couples, but none has gone as far as
Bisbee has. The bill passed the city
council 5-2. But that vote was only
the beginning of a battle that has
since put the town in the spotlight.
For years, Bisbee has had a reputation as a gay friendly enclave
in largely conservative Arizona.
As the state has made national
headlines in recent years for its
controversial immigration law and
Gov. Jan Brewer (R)’s high-profile
skirmishes with President Barack
Obama, Bisbee has stayed under
the radar with a live-and-let-live
attitude. Now the gay marriage
debate is hotter than Arizona as-
Bisbee Mayor
Adriana Badal
(center) with
Jennifer
Garland (left)
and Melissa
Reaves.