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GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE October 16, 1992

Colorado ballot initiative would ban gay civil rights

by Ray O'Loughlin

Denver--Voters in Colorado will make an historic decision this November 3. If Amendment 2 to the state constitution passes, all lesbian-gay civil rights ordinances in the state will be null and void, and no local or state agency will be allowed to ever again adopt non-discrimination protection based on sexual orientation. The initiative is similar to one that will appear on Oregon's state ballot. Both are part of a religious-right national assault on civil rights for gays and lesbians.

The Colorado measure was put on the ballot by a group called Colorado for Family Values (CFV) who submitted 65,000 valid petition signatures last April, 16,000 more than needed. The Colorado Springsbased organization says it wants to stop gay people from claiming "minority staus,

quota preferences, protected status, or discrimination based on sexual orientation.'

According to CFV co-chair Kevin Tebedo, "We're the first people to get back in the gays' faces. They're going to have to put on boxing gloves."

Opponents to Amendment 2, the Equal Protection Campaign (EPOColorado), are bracing for an onslaught of misleading claims and scare tactics by CFV. Says campaign manager Judy Harrington, "We now face the challenge of overcoming the misleading language of the amendment itself, as well as the use of slick campaign slogans like 'No Special Rights' designed to trick and scare voters."

EPOColorado grew out of last year's successful campaign to defend Denver's civil rights ordinance from a repeal attempt by a group similar to CFV. In May 1991, Denver voters decided to keep their city's

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non-discrimination ordinance. Fundamentalists announced almost immediately that they would launch the statewide effort.

Besides Denver, two other Colorado cities have gay rights ordinances, Boulder and Aspen. Colorado Gov. Roy Romer has also issued an executive order banning discrimination in state employment. All those measures would be repealed if Amendment 2 passes.

The proposed amendment would not only repeal existing laws and prohibit future ones, it would make discrimination legally part of Colorado's state constitution. "It singles out gays and lesbians as a class that would never be protected by antidiscrimination laws, says Harrington. This probably violates the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

On CFV's side is popular University of Colorado football coach Bill McCartney, who has publicly called homosexuality "an abomination of almighty God," and former U.S. Senator Bill Armstrong, once an ally of Sen. Jesse Helms. Armstrong wrote in a CFV fundraising letter that civil rights laws protecting gays "force you and me to give our state's legal blessing to aberrant homosexual behavior and life styles." He has blamed AIDS on "pleasure-addicted gays."

Many prominent Colorado political figures have also come out opposed to Amendment 2. Gov. Roy Romer is honorary chair of the campaign to defeat the measure. Numerous labor unions and church groups have issued statements opposing Amendment 2. "We teach basic civil rights to our students and therefore must protect the

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Colorado constitution from being amended to legally deny civil rights to anyone," says the Denver Classroom Teachers Association. Even the Roman Catholic bishops of Colorado refrained from endorsing the measure, despite the recent urging of the Vatican that they do so. The bishops have taken a neutral position on the amendment.

Early poll results indicate that Colorado voters may not support the measure either. Two recent statewide surveys showed Amendment 2 losing by margins of 45-38 percent and 54-36 percent. But those polls were taken before President Bush made “family values” part of his national campaign. "The list of individuals and organizations opposing this initiative is growing," says Harrington, "but we are facing a long, tough stuggle to defend our state constitution."

EPOColorado expects a last-minute media blitz of lurid ads by CFV, and is trying to build up enough funds to counter that. That means running expensive television and radio ads exposing Amendment 2 and getting out the "no" vote.

To help that effort, national figures, such as tennis stars like Martina Navratilova, have held fundraisers. Campaign organizers have stressed that what's at stake here is not just an issue for Coloradans. A rightwing victory here would encourage fundamentalists to launch such campaigns across the U.S., as they in fact have plans to do. A civil rights victory could halt those plans.

For further information, or to make a donation, write EPOColorado, P.O. Box 300476, Denver, CO 80203.

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