Marriage affidavits denied after gay rights rally, march


Four Arizona ministers vowed to continue battling for gay rights Tuesday after Maricopa County officials refused to legalize dozens of gay marriages the clerics performed during the weekend.

The ministers' appeal to the county was the culmination of a three-day offensive against the state's ban on same-sex unions. The group's leader said the efforts could lay the groundwork for a new challenge to Arizona's ban on gay marriage.

The ministers, along with more than 100 gay couples and gay rights supporters, marched from Patriots Square Park to the county court building in downtown Phoenix, holding up traffic for a few minutes. They waved signs and sang "We Shall Overcome."

After the ministers walked into the court building, county spokeswoman Cari Gerchick told them the 41 marriages they performed Saturday were illegal and the county would not recognize them.