Same-Sex Marriage

Racines pops the cork for civil unions this month

At 12:01 on May 1, Colorado's Civil Unions Act took effect. And to commemorate the new law,Racines is offering same-sex couples celebrating their new legal status a complimentary 187 ml bottle of Korbel California Brut Champagne to share during lunch or dinner...or breakfast, if you're so inclined. ... More >>

Civil unions photos: Meet four couples who made it legal last night

Last night was a big step forward in the march toward equality for all Coloradans. At midnight, the long-sought civil-unions measure became law, and attendees of a One Colorado-sponsored celebration at the McNichols Building Civic Center and other couples who began lining up hours earlier headed to ... More >>

Photos: One Colorado rings in civil unions with the Civil Soiree at McNichols

One Colorado, the state's most formidable gay-rights organization, hosted the Civil Soiree at the McNichols Building on the eve of the civil unions bill going into action across the state. Only hours later, many supporters traversed Civic Center and headed to the Wellington Webb Municipal Building t ... More >>

License to Thrill

Photos: Ten famous same-sex couples who've tied the knot

Yesterday, Governor John Hickenlooper signed civil unions into law; for our coverage, click here. In honor of this historic step, we've assembled photos and information about famous same-sex couples who've legally committed to each other, either through marriage ceremonies in areas where doing so is ... More >>

Photos: John Hickenlooper signs Colorado Civil Unions Act into law

It's only fitting that the acme of Governor John Hickenlooper's recent political responsibilities came in a building called History Colorado. On Thursday, before a crowd of hundreds lining railings three stories up and jostling for a view, Hickenlooper signed the Colorado Civil Unions Act into law. ... More >>

Update: Michelle Shocked's ETown show canceled due to controversial anti-gay remarks

Update: Michelle Shocked is sorry. In a statement she sent to Bay Area public radio station KQED earlier today, she insists she isn't homophobic, and says moreover that her words were taken out of context: "I do not, nor have I ever, said or believed that God hates homosexuals (or anyone else). I s ... More >>

Civil unions bill passes Senate, heads to House

Last May, a civil-unions bill died an ugly death in the Colorado House of Representatives, alternately frustrating and pissing off backers. But this year appears to be a very different story. A short time ago, the state senate approved the Pat Steadman-sponsored measure -- and while that happened i ... More >>

Brian Edwards and Tom Privitere sue after engagement pic used in Colorado hate mailers

In this year's campaign, Senator Jean White and state House candidate Jeffrey Hare, both Republicans, were attacked via mailers featuring a gay couple kissing and slogans suggesting that the image represented their version of family values. Turns out that the couple in question, Brian Edwards and T ... More >>

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis

Thursday, December 6, Ogden Theatre, 888-929-7849.

The State of 8

My fake Facebook engagement to a gay guy

Remember Spencer? He was that gorgeous gay man I was going to marry this past May to protest the fact that it's 2012 and we, as Colorado residents, still can't legally commit to the loves of our lives through the public and legal acknowledgement of marriage, civil unions or whatever the hell else th ... More >>

Civil unions and pot: Colorado loves them!

Denver blog posts ride on. Colorado Independent's Scot Kersgaard on new polling data that suggests Coloradans favor civil unions and marijuana-related Amendment 64, but would ban assault weapons. Who Said You Said on Obama's policies and women. Purple Row's Andrew Martin is still following the Ro ... More >>

Anti-civil unions lawmakers: Fight Back Colorado asks which should be sent packing

Fight Back Colorado, a group devoted to defeating lawmakers in November's election who voted against a bill to legalize civil unions, is soliciting input on exactly which lawmakers to target. The campaign has launched a survey called Send 'Em Packin' that asks supporters to pick their three least fa ... More >>

Masterpiece Cakeshop: Will shop make cake for dog wedding but not gay wedding?

Last week, we wrote about Lakewood's Masterpiece Cakeshop, which, like larger national chains including Chik-Fil-A, has taken a stance on gay marriage. Owner Jack Phillips does not create cakes for gay ceremonies. And while members of the local community are planning protests against a policy they f ... More >>

Gary Johnson, Libertarian presidential hopeful, on pot, pride and Jon Stewart

Former Governor of New Mexico Gary Johnson, who is now running for president as a Libertarian, stopped in Denver yesterday for Pridefest. He took a break from schmoozing with potential voters to chat with Westword about his campaign, the Libertarian Party, marijuana, gay marriage and his ongoing bat ... More >>

Lay Catholics, Gill Foundation make up funding lost by immigrant center

Lay Catholics and several big organizations, including the Denver-based Gill Foundation, have saved the budget of an immigrant advocacy group in Durango whose funding was yanked by the Catholic Campaign for Human Development. The Catholics stripped the immigrant group, called Companeros, of $30,000 ... More >>

Frank McNulty kills civil unions bill, earns shmuck of the session

He looked shmucky enough at the end of the regularly scheduled session of the Colorado Legislature when he pointed the finger at Democrats for not pushing the civil unions bill earlier, then delivered his own lethal injection when he sent the proposal to a "kill committee." And then whoops, House S ... More >>

"Gays are a threat to public health" letter fires up civil unions debate

At this writing, the second-most-viewed item on the Boulder Daily Camera website is a letter to the editor -- but not just any letter. The missive, published under the heading "Gays are a Threat to Public Health," has had an explosive impact on readers, coming at the outset of a special session insp ... More >>

Civil unions go before "kill committee" that could give pot bills new life

A bill to legalize civil unions and two bills dealing with marijuana have been assigned to be debated this afternoon in the House's State, Veterans and Military Affairs committee, which is likely to reject civil unions but keep the latter measures alive. Today is the first day of a special legislati ... More >>

THC driving bill on special sessions agenda: Does that mean Hick will sign it?

As we've reported, Governor John Hickenlooper called for a special legislative session following the blockage of a civil unions bill. The governor's office has identified seven bills that Hickenlooper hopes will be addressed beginning on Monday, including the controversial THC driving bill. Does tha ... More >>

Marijuana: Mitt Romney doesn't like your questions about cannabis

Mitt Romney doesn't like marijuana or medical marijuana, and he doesn't want to hear your insignificant questions about the subject, either. At least, that's what he told CBS4's Shaun Boyd in an interview yesterday.

Video: Civil unions bill dies, proponent "angry and pissed off and frustrated"

Update: In our coverage yesterday about a pro-civil unions rally on the west steps of the State Capitol (it's on view below), we asked: "Can Colorado House leaders be shamed into giving a chance to the civil unions bill?" Turns out the answer is "no." The civil unions bill died because of a procedur ... More >>

Civil unions stalemate: Fallout affects small businesses, poor, others

The Republican House leadership's successful effort to block passage of a civil unions bill yesterday, orchestrated by Speaker Frank McNulty, could well have aftershocks stretching to the fall elections. And lawmakers who opted for inaction may be facing much more than the wrath of liberals and acti ... More >>

B.J. Nikkel civil unions vote: Coincidence she's not running for reelection?

Representative B.J. Nikkel, a Republican from Loveland, became a hero to supporters of the Senator Pat Steadman-sponsored civil unions bill when her vote in favor of the measure allowed it to pass the House judiciary committee yesterday; see a slew of tweets singing her praises below. She was the so ... More >>

Lay Catholics use donations to fight back against their church's right-wing contigent

Catholics are pushing back against a decision by the Catholic Campaign for Human Development to cut off funding to an immigrant advocacy group in Durango because it has ties to an LGBT advocacy group that supports the legalization of civil unions. The progressive national nonprofit Catholics United ... More >>

Catholic fund stops aid to immigrant advocates over link to LGBT group

In February, Catholic Charities testified that if Colorado lawmakers legalize civil unions, it may stop providing adoption and foster care services. Now, it seems that another Catholic organization, the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, has cut off funding to an immigrant advocacy group in Du ... More >>

Five reasons why you should buy your coffee at Starbucks

Starbucks' outspoken support of same-sex marriage prompted the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) to create an international campaign to "Dump Starbucks," an attempt to persuade people to stop buying coffee from Starbucks because, according to itsDump Starbucks website, "it has taken a corpora ... More >>

Civil unions bill approved by Senate committee in emotional session

Update: After more than six hours of grueling public testimony and three senators on the verge of tears, a Senate committee approved the Colorado Civil Unions Bill. The measure, a step toward granting same-sex couples parental and property rights similar to those enjoyed by married couples, passed ... More >>

Civil unions bill could fail again unless Republican supporters step up

Last March, Senator Pat Steadman told us he believed the civil unions bill he sponsored would pass the Colorado House, as it had the state senate, if not blocked by extremists. In the end, however, it fell one vote short in committee, with all six of the panel's GOP members rejecting it. This year, ... More >>

John Hickenlooper: Hat's off to Colorado's entrepreneurial spirit

John Hickenlooper might not like wearing a tie, but he has a thing about hats these days. He donned a giant cowboy hat for his speech at the Citizens of the West dinner Monday night (scary photo at right and below); he modeled a Denver Broncos cap during his State of the State speech yesterday. But ... More >>

Mark Ferrandino on election as House minority leader, future of civil union bill

Colorado's general assembly doesn't convene until January, but Mark Ferrandino, who represents District 2, is already moving at full speed -- and no wonder. As the newly elected House minority leader, and the first gay man to serve in this capacity, he's got a big agenda, and he's dedicated to brin ... More >>

Lesbian couple fights deportation: Will judge allow undocumented partner to stay in U.S.?

​ In May, we told the stories of two GLBT immigrants living in Colorado and seeking asylum to stay in the United States forever. Their stories of discrimination and abuse in their home countries tested the limits of asylum law. On Friday, another local GLBT immigrant, a lesbian woman named Mrs ... More >>

Sarah Palin II: Bachmann Boogaloo

The GOP members of the House Judiciary Committee will go down in history -- as shmucks

Bob Gardner​It was a foregone conclusion from the beginning. Earlier this year, state representative Mark Ferrandino and state senator Pat Steadman introduced a bill that would have allowed civil unions in Colorado and given gay couples the same right to make a legal commitment as heterosexu ... More >>

Littleton residents are for civil unions, bovine winter wear and MMJ expiration dates

Littleton residents come out in favor of civil unions.​For this Friday, we've got three news stories to talk about over drinks tonight at Happy Hour. Be the informed drinker. Littleton residents are showing some tolerance -- that's what one could infer from statements made by Republican state ... More >>

John Suthers defends his defense of the Defense of Marriage Act

John Suthers.​We spread Denver blog post link love. The Colorado Independent's John Tomasic on John Suthers's dismissal of criticism about his Defense of Marriage Act stand. Eddie at People's Press Collective touts Falcon School District 49, Ben DeGrow and... Cookie Monster? At Denver Egoti ... 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 >>

Dean Singleton calls for marijuana, gay marriage to be legalized, sees Barack Obama as one-term president, believes Bill Ritter's reasons for quitting

Dean Singleton's got opinions -- and he's not shy about sharing them.​Denver Post owner/publisher Dean Singleton seems to have trouble with the word bankruptcy, especially when it pertains to his company, MediaNews Group. But he's extremely loquacious about other topics, as he's proving this m ... More >>

Same sex-marriage debate: Westboro Baptist Church protest falls flat -- because gay haters don't show up

Fireworks were on the agenda last night in Boulder. The setting: CU. The occasion: a debate about same-sex marriage sponsored by the campus Catholic ministry. The opponents: Representatives of Kansas-based Westboro Baptist Church, whose web address, GodHatesFags.com, symbolizes the organization's ... More >>

Vile prejudice and hatred to accompany same-sex marriage debate at CU

Westboro Baptist Church's Fred Phelps: one evil bastard.​No doubt some supporters of same-sex marriage already had their doubts about the evenhandedness of tonight's debate on the topic at CU. After all, it's sponsored by the St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Center -- and the Catholic church as an ... 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 >>

Is Prince having an anti-gay affair with Phil Anschutz?

Key lyric from the Prince song "Controversy": "Am I straight or gay?" In the latest issue of the New Yorker, writer Claire Hoffman checks up on the Artist-Currently-Known-As-Prince in his new Los Angeles mansion and finds that the flamboyantly androgynous musician (who was one pelted with garba ... More >>

Another sexy deal from Dan Savage

The Denver Post's bizarre juxtaposition of Jared Polis and Marilyn Musgrave

Here Come the Brides

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