In a close 14-11 vote, the Arizona Senate voted against a proposal calling for a ballot measure to prohibit equal marriage. The proposal, which would create a constitutional amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman, would have been up for popular vote in November.

According to Equality Arizona, openly gay Senators Paula Aboud and Ken Cheuvront (right), along with longtime ally Senator Caroline Allen, stood as strong leaders to defeat the bill. While the bill was effectively curtailed today, a majority did vote to reconsider the bill at a later date, meaning it could once again come up for a vote before the legislature ends its session.

The Arizona Daily Star reports that amendment supporters plan to bring the measure back for another vote on Friday, thanks to a procedural move by one Senator who cast a vote against the the proposal in order to be able to resurrect the discussion later.

“Today’s actions were an inappropriate use of power,” said Equality Arizona Executive Director Barbara McCullough-Jones. “Rather than taking care of the business of the people, political opportunists are using wedge politics to divide this state. A majority of Arizonans believe an amendment to the state constitution is not necessary, while furthermore, 91 percent of Arizonans already know that same-sex marriage is not recognized in this state. The voters get it. Why don’t our elected officials get it?”

The Arizona Daily Star reports that Cheuvront said the vote was “enlightening” in terms of seeing who the gay community’s allies were.

“We’ve realized who our friends are and who our foes are,” he said. “It tells us what you think of us.”