LGBT Issues

Kim Jong-Un supports gay marriage: Did SNL steal this from The Onion?

Last weekend's Saturday Night Live cold-open featured a somewhat unconvincing Bobby Moynihan playing the adorably chubby supreme leader of North Korea, Kim Jong-Un. The sketch revolved around the husky dictator's address to the people of NK, announcing a change in policy on two major fronts. The fir ... More >>

Marijuana and gay marriage: New study explores their legal link

Same-sex marriage and marijuana legalization aren't natural bedfellows, as it were. But do the topics have more in common than seems obvious at first blush? Jonathan Rauch thinks so. In a new Brookings Institution study on view below in its entirety, he maintains that just as states have the right t ... More >>

Civil unions bill on way to governor's desk, One Colorado plans celebration event

It's been a long time coming. After a bill to legalize civil unions in Colorado fell short in both 2011 and last year, the measure finally passed the Colorado House today. Next, the legislation heads to the desk of Governor John Hickenlooper, who's promised to sign it. This breakthrough delights B ... More >>

Joanne Conte shook up Arvada as a city council member -- and a transgendered person

Twenty years ago, a new member of the Arvada City Council was making waves in the normally sleepy suburb. Joanne Conte, who'd been elected in 1991, was shaking things up so much that then-Westword staff writer Karen Bowers started working on a political story about the situation. But she got a big ... More >>

Photos: "Pro marriage" supporters protest civil union bill at State Capitol

At noon, two days after a Senate committee voted to approve a bill allowing same-sex civil unions, a sizable crowd of "pro-marriage" supporters rallied on the steps of the State Capitol building. A similar gathering took place in May last year following the failure of another civil union bill. But ... More >>

Colorado Civil Unions Act to be reintroduced today, activist optimistic about its chances

Although Colorado has led the way in the effort to legalize small amounts of marijuana, it's another bill that may just push the state into the 21st century: the Colorado Civil Unions Act. After dying on the legislative floor last year, the bill will be heard and debated at 1:30 p.m. today by the Co ... More >>

Viking Chris Kluwe tackles discrimination in major-league sports

J. Edgar to 8: Dustin Lance Black's artistic triumphs for gay rights

One of the great historians of our time, Dustin Lance Black is responsible for some great dramatic portrayals of our country's past. Whether his subject is Harvey Milk, J. Edgar Hoover or the California State Supreme Court, Black is painstakingly thorough with his research and masterful with his sto ... More >>

Photos: Protesters picket Masterpiece Cakeshop's anti-gay marriage policy

As of this morning, an online petition condemning Lakewood bakery Masterpiece Cakeshop for its policy against working with gay weddings has garnered well over 4,000 signatures. This weekend, for the second Saturday in a row, protesters gathered outside the store in an effort to convince owner Jack P ... More >>

Defense of Marriage Act ruling shows courts rejecting marriage inequality, activist says

Yesterday, the 1st Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals struck down a key provision in the so-called Defense of Marriage Act, shorthanded as DOMA. And while the ruling doesn't directly impact Colorado, where a fight over a civil unions bill killed not once but twice was the story of the just-completed legi ... More >>

These days, schools ignore gay bullying at their own peril

Civil unions bill dies in special session: "Forced acceptance" v. love, rights

The so-called House "kill committee" has put to death a bill to legalize civil unions. The measure, sponsored by House Minority Leader Mark Ferrandino, who is gay, failed despite having bipartisan support in the full House when the committee's five Republicans voted against it. But first, supporters ... More >>

Civil unions like marrying a sheep or a horse?: GOP goes forward into the past

It's 2006 all over again. That was the year that Coloradans passed a constitutional amendment defining marriage as being between one man and one woman. It was also the year when lieutenant governor candidate Janet Rowland, when discussing same-sex marriage, uttered this: "Do we allow a man to marry ... More >>

Video: John Hickenlooper says civil unions aren't marriage on CNN

Colorado's special session, which begins today, is earning nationwide attention for Governor John Hickenlooper due in large part to the civil unions legislation whose death largely inspired it. But in conversation with the net's Candy Crowley (see it below), Hickenlooper avoided espousing same-sex m ... More >>

LGBT advocates fight Catholic Charities' threat to stop adoptions if civil unions are legalized

Video below.​Gay advocacy group One Colorado has started an online petition to fight against what it calls "scare tactics" by Catholic Charities, whose reps testified at the Capitol last week that if lawmakers legalize civil unions, it may stop providing adoption and foster care services. Why? ... More >>

Civil unions could generate $4.8 million for Colorado in first three years, study says

one-colorado.org​ If Colorado lawmakers pass a bill to legalize civil unions, the state could see a bump in its bank account -- $4.8 million in the first three years, according to a report by the California-based sexual orientation think tank The Williams Institute. That money would come from ... More >>

Proposition 8 ruling: Could it make legislatures gun shy about civil unions?

Our post about the 9th Circuit Court declaring Proposition 8, California's gay marriage ban, unconstitutional, focused on the Colorado case that spelled doom for the state's anti-gay Amendment 2 circa the '90s. But could this ruling cause problems for measures like the civil unions bill progressing ... More >>

Same-sex couples could get a belated valentine from Senate Judiciary committee

The Colorado Legislature has a date with cupid a day after Valentine's Day. At 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, February 15, the Senate Judiciary Committee will consider the Colorado Civil Union Act in the old Supreme Court Chambers. The bill would provide same-sex couples the same legal protections and ben ... More >>

Proposition 8 ruling: Did Colorado's anti-gay Amendment 2 sow seeds for legal gay marriage?

Yesterday, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals declared unconstitutional California's Proposition 8, which banned same-sex marriage in the state. But the ruling, on view below, has a distinctly local flavor, since the jurists' argument is largely based on the U.S. Supreme Court's precedent-setting reje ... More >>

Reader: Civil union proposal like leftovers compared to a true marriage bill

In a recent post, Senator Pat Steadman discussed the challenges that stand before his civil unions bill, whose previous version failed to get out of committee after all its GOP members rejected it. One of our readers isn't a big backer, either -- but for what appears to be a very different reason.

Civil unions: One Colorado director Brad Clark glad for GOP group in favor of them

one-colorado.org​ The defeat of a bill to legalize civil unions in the last legislative session was a heart-breaker for those in favor of marriage equality. After passing in the Senate, the bill was defeated in a House committee by one vote -- with all six of the panel's Republicans voting aga ... More >>

Reader: LGBT color guard at Veterans Day parade deserved to be treated as equals

​It's not surprising that our post about the GLBT Color Guard being the first gay group allowed to march in Denver's Veterans Day parade would attract some hateful commentary. Here's one reader's attempt to offer an antidote.

Abstinence-only funding was refused, but that didn't stop a state school-board member

Gay immigrants: Washington Post says to halt deportations of immigrants in same-sex unions

​ A Washington Post editorial reprinted today in the Denver Post calls for a moratorium on the deportation of gay immigrants who are legally married or in civil unions until after federal courts decide the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).

Gay immigrants need asylum from persecution at home

Civil Union Act should pass in CO House if not blocked by extremists, says Sen. Pat Steadman

Pat Steadman.​Update below: Today, in all likelihood, SB 172, intended to legalize civil unions in Colorado, will be okayed by the state senate, following debate yesterday that warmed the heart of its sponsor, Senator Pat Steadman. Next, however, the bill must be approved by the Republican-con ... More >>

Civil Union Act debate begins: Senator Pat Steadman says public is ready for measure

Pat Steadman.​Today at 1:30 p.m., the senate judiciary committee and members of the public will begin discussing Senate Bill 172, the Colorado Civil Union Act, co-sponsored by Senator Pat Steadman: Read it below. Back in 2006, Colorado voters rejected a referendum that would have established m ... More >>

Civil unions: LGBT organization One Colorado kicks off campaign to legalize them (VIDEO)

​ LGBT-rights organization One Colorado is behind a legislative push this year to legalize civil unions in the state. On Sunday, the organization held a kickoff event for its civil-unions coalition, Voices for Strong Families. Among those in attendance was Senator Pat Steadman, who plans to sp ... More >>

David Balmer's temper and five other topics hot enough to thaw out frozen Colorado

Vicki Ferrari.​State Representative David Balmer apologized yesterday for losing "his cool" in a heated conversation last week with Senator Gail Schwartz; his agitated gesturing got him banned from the Senate floor for the rest of the 2011 congressional session. But Balmer's temper isn't the ... More >>

Same-sex marriage ban forces twelve-year-old girl into pillow fight: Kenny Be's involved

The perfect gay-marriage matchbook. Run for cover before striking.​ The open matchbook that is pictured above is my contribution to twelve-year-old Augusta Dexheimer's Wedding Pillow Project. Gus and I go way back: Her parents are former Westword staff writers Eric Dexheimer and Robin Chotzino ... More >>

Stupid ad of the week (from the archives): Overturn Prop 8

​In the modern world, advertising is one of the most powerful tools available to get one's message out to the public. Urgent issues are spread wide through our wonderful super technology. But just because you can send a message out to millions of people simultaneously doesn't mean it's going t ... More >>

The Family Research Council's Tony Perkins serves with dishonor

Tony Perkins.​Last week, Tony Perkins, the head of the Family Research Council in Colorado Springs, said that if the United States ends the "don't ask, don't tell" policy in the military, it could bring back the draft. His reasoning: strapping young recruits won't want to serve next to men and ... More >>

Ken Buck's homosexuality-to-alcoholism line: Take that back, says One Colorado's Brad Clark

Ken Buck.​Dems pounced after Republican candidate Ken Buck likened homosexuality to alcoholism on Meet the Press. And while Buck's spokesman pooh-poohed the controversy, activists like One Colorado's Brad Clark aren't ready to move on. Clark is among those appearing at a press conference at 1 ... More >>

Westboro Baptist Church protest in Fort Collins to be met with silence

WBC's evil Fred Phelps.​Earlier this month, we told you about threats by the haters from Westboro Baptist Church to befoul a number of area locations, with several opportunities for bigotry against gays and Jewish residents of Fort Collins planned. If WBC does show up, the Lambda Community Ce ... More >>

New survey asks what it's like to be LGBT in the Centennial State

An image from One-Colorado.org​ One Colorado, a new statewide gay-rights organization that's actually an umbrella for a trio of organizations including an advocacy group, a non-profit education group and a political action committee, is attempting to use 53 questions, in the form of a survey, ... More >>

Home by Dark sheds no light on family secrets

Wake-Up Call: Is Kenny Be the worst in the world?

​The Best and Worst of National News for July according to GLAAD, the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, is out, and Kenny Be -- yes, Kenny Be,Westword's sensitive and insightful staff cartoonist -- is on the hit list. Here's the story from GLAAD's website: THE WORST The Denver Westw ... More >>

Video: Five people arrested during yesterday's Prop 8 protest

Soulforce in Colorado, a Denver-based nonprofit dedicated to ending oppression against gays, lesbians, bisexual and transgender people, has posted a YouTube video of yesterday's protest of the California Supreme Court ruling upholding Proposition 8, which bans same-sex marriage. (For more about th ... More >>

Baseball, soccer, gay-marriage rally: one Denver nine-year-old's Saturday schedule

Ethan lays it out for Sen. Michael Bennet. Meet Ethan. He's nine and in Mr. Kimmal's third-grade class at the Montclair School of Academics and Enrichment in west Denver. He likes soccer, football, baseball, basketball, swimming and skiing. But his favorite thing to do after school is read, especia ... More >>

A House Divided

When Reverend Benjamin Reynolds opened his church to gays, some called it a sin. He calls it a mission from God.

Follow That Story

Sex Change

A Brewing Disagreement

An anti-Coors ad gets canned by a local publication.

A Gay Day

The annual PrideFest parade mixes frolics with politics.

Best toilet paper

The Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Community Services Center of Colorado

Best realtors for gays and lesbians

Rosnik & Associates

Nobody Gets Out of Here Alive

Patrick Gourley has seen enough death from AIDS. Now it’s time for rebirth.

The Gay Nineties

Since Amendement 2 passed seven years ago, Colorado Springs has learned a lesson in Family Values.

Feature

The Other Coors Spokesman

International Mr. Leather Bruce Chopnik wants to tell the world: It's a new day for gays and Coors.

Closet Concerns