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GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE

January 22, 1993

Colorado's Amendment 2 may be stopped in courts

Advocates for the Colorado lesbian and gay community went to court in late December seeking emergency relief to stop the anti-gay Amendment 2 from taking effect in mid-January. The motion for a preliminary injunction was filed by Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, the Lesbian and Gay Rights Project of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the ACLU of Colorado and Colorado attorney Jean Dubofsky.

It is expected that the motion will be heard by the court in January as the opening battle of what is likely to be a hard-fought legal challenge.

Amendment 2, passed by a slim majority of voters last November, prohibits the State of Colorado along with its agencies, political subdivisions, municipalities, and school districts from protecting lesbians, gay men and bisexuals against sexual orientation

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discrimination. If the amendment goes into effect, Colorado will be the first and only state in the country to absolutely bar any part of its government from ever providing protection to one group of citizens.

"Amendment 2 dangerously limits the rights of citizens to participate in the political process," said Lambda staff attorney Suzanne Goldberg. "Our preliminary injunction motion asks the court to recognize that no state may constitutionally set apart one group of people for second-class citizenship, even briefly," she added.

The preliminary injunction motion focuses on two of the many ways Amendment 2 violates the United States constitution as it restricts the possibilities for political participation by lesbians, gay men and bisexuals; denial of equal protection of the laws and infringement of first amendment freedoms of expression and association.

In addition to individual Colorado residents, including Martina Navratilova, the

cities of Denver, Boulder and Aspen as well as Boulder school district are plaintiffs in the lawsuit.

During the campaign, Colorado for Family Values, a private citizens' group, promoted the amendment by seeking support from individuals and churches throughout the state. The group announced its plan to intervene in the lawsuit and join Colorado's governor and attorney general in defending the amendment.

"The decision in this case will be immensely important in countering the attacks of the Christian right wing on gay men and lesbians throughout the country,' said Mary Newcombe, a staff attorney in Lambda's Western Regional Office.

Lambda and the ACLU have successfully challenged similar anti-gay initiatives in both Riverside and Concord, California earlier this year. "We expect a similar result from the Colorado courts," Newcombe added.

Shalala denies 'alternative lifestyle' after being outed

by Kevin Beaney

In late December the Madison, Wisconsin Capital Times, and subsequently the Associated Press ran a story that Donna Shalala, named to be Health and Human Services secretary by President-elect Bill Clinton, denied she is a lesbian.

The denial came in the wake of "outing" phone calls by Queer Nation cofounder Michael Petrelis to the media and to Shalala after she was selected by Clinton. The FBI, which was conducting their background check of the cabinet nominee, raised the lesbian question with Shalala.

In her interview with the Capital Times, Shalala said, "Have I lived an alternative lifestyle? The answer is no."

Both the FBI and Clinton transition personnel downplayed the incident. FBI spokespersons stated that sexual orientation is not a standard question but "anything that would compromise a person's integrity" is an issue that the Bureau is obliged to investigate. Maria Romash, a spokeswoman for the Clinton-Gore transition team, said that Petrelis' claim was

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"not true and it's irrelevant. Donna Shalala was chosen for her position because she is a woman of competence, experience and vision who offers this country a great deal through her service."

Petrelis stated that he had no proof of the accusation beyond rumors made by other gays and lesbians. Shalala has been chancellor of the University of WisconsonMadison for the past five years and blames the rumors on her stand towards the ROTC program there. She did not back those student leaders who wanted to kick military recruiters off campus, opting instead to join in a move pursuading the Defense Department to drop its ban on gays.

Petrelis speculated that it was one of the Republican senators on the Senate Finance Committee who requested the FBI to ask the lesbian question. That committee holds confirmation hearings for Health and Human Service department nominees.

Shalala, 51 and single, is a native of Cleveland. She grew up on West 93rd Street and graduated from West Technical High School.

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