Activists prepare
for same-sex marriage battle in Colorado

Gay rights leaders in Colorado on Thursday said they are committed to fighting an effort by evangelical Christians to constitutionally ban same-same marriage in the state. The Colorado Alliance for Family Equality, a grassroots organization seeking marriage rights for gays, is trying to stop a new coalition of antigay groups from adding an initiative to the November ballot that would define marriage as "only a union of one man and one woman."

The Coloradoans for Marriage includes members of Focus on the Family, the National Association of Evangelicals, and the lobbying arm of the Roman Catholic Church in Colorado. The coalition is working to gather the 68,000 signatures needed to get the initiative on the ballot. "We invite churches that are open and affirming to join with us in speaking out against writing thousands of Colorado families out of our constitution," wrote John Ferguson, steering committee chair of CAFE, in a statement. "We will provide information and connections so your organization's members can help defeat this assault on our long-cherished rights, for no family can be truly free unless all families are treated equally."

Since Colorado law already defines marriage as a union of a man and a woman, gay leaders say the initiative is an unnecessary political ploy designed to get conservative voters to the polls. "The ballot initiative is not about protecting marriage," Ferguson wrote. "This is the latest in the religious right's on-going campaign to divide Colorado into the haves and the have-nots through the scapegoating of gay people."

A domestic-partnership bill that would grant same-sex couples many of the same rights as heterosexual spouses is set to be introduced in the Colorado legislature any day. If passed by a majority in the house and senate, the 2006 Domestic Partnership Referendum would find it itself on November's ballot, possibly right next to the far right's same-sex marriage initiative. (Advocate.com)