Here's an in-depth analysis of political involvement by both sides of the gay rights issue, from the Rocky Mountain News. They write, "The passage of Amendment 2 - the 1992 measure that banned anti-discrimination laws for homosexuals - shocked Colorado gays and lesbians, and then propelled them into politics as never before. It also galvanized their opponents, and proved to the be the first battle of a Colorado political war that continues through dueling ballot initiatives to this day. The lesson learned, leading gay activists say, was both bitter and profoundly instructive: Fight or be trounced."
Here's another article on the subject from the Rocky Mountain News, focusing on Colorado Springs. They write, "Ten years ago Jerry Albrent never would have imagined himself singing show tunes in a gay men's chorus featuring a bald, middle-aged trio performing I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Out of My Hair. In 1996, Amendment 2, which was started by an evangelical Christian group, was ruled unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court. But the bitter fight over gay rights had hardly come to end. Resentments lingered. This picturesque city [Colorado Springs] became known among gay and lesbian activists as the birthplace of Amendment 2 and the 'epicenter of hate.' Meanwhile, Focus on the Family and other locally based religious organizations stepped up their efforts to fight same-sex marriage, gay adoption and other 'special rights' for gays and lesbians. A decade later, despite such events as this year's debut of the city's first gay men's choir, the cultural war rages on."
We missed this article about the dueling initiatives and amendments from Thursday's Rocky. From the article, "Elections usually settle things. But possibly not in the case of two apparently conflicting measures related to same-sex couples that may end up on the November ballot. If voters approved both, the election would likely be settled in the courts. One measure seeks to prohibit any official recognition of a same- sex union that resembles marriage. The other seeks to exempt same- sex "domestic partnerships" from that prohibition. So what happens if both pass? 'This is a peculiar question,' said Richard Collins, a law professor at the University of Colorado. In that case, he said, both would end up in the state constitution. The one that gets the most yes votes would have an edge on the other but only on the provisions that are in conflict, he said...
"The proposed No Legal Status Amendment would prohibit the state from creating any legal status similar to marriage for same-sex couples. The proposal is an attempt to trump the domestic partnership measure that will be on the ballot. Yet a third measure is meant to counter the No Legal Status proposal. It would make a same-sex domestic partnership "a unique and valued relationship" that is not similar to marriage. The intent is to allow voters to say domestic partnerships don't violate the one-man, one-woman marriage definition. Reconciling that proposal with the No Legal Status Amendment would take an outside force, assuming they make the ballot and are both approved."
Read all three articles before they scroll behind the Rocky paywall.
Ed Quillen weighs in on the issues. He writes, "So we have 1344, a referred domestic-partnership law. We may see the anti-1344 constitutional amendment, the protect-1344 constitutional amendment, and the one-man one-woman constitutional amendment. The simplest solution to all this is one I proposed several years ago: Enact a domestic-partnership law that applies to all couples, and remove 'marriage' from all state laws. Why? As the right-thinkers often remind us, 'marriage is a sacrament.' Consider other sacraments, like baptism, confirmation and penance. Thanks to certain enlightened provisions in the state and federal bills of rights, the government does not tell churches how to perform these sacraments, nor who may receive them. It's entirely up to the church, as it should be. So it should also be with marriage. Get your civil union certified at the courthouse, and then visit your church, mosque, temple or ashram if you want a marriage."
Category: Denver November 2006 Election
8:14:43 AM 
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