Arizona Town Set to Become First in the State to Allow Same-Sex Civil Unions

State constitution recognizes marriage as being between one man and one woman

(Reuters)—A former Arizona copper mining town reborn as an artists' community is poised to become on Tuesday the first city in the conservative southwestern state to allow civil unions between same-sex couples.

The City Council in Bisbee, a city of 5,600 residents in southeast Arizona, is set to pass an ordinance allowing any couple regardless of their sex or sexual orientation to join in a civil ceremony.