On Monday, the Tenth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals maintained a lower court’s decision to reject a Colorado web designer’s request to discriminate against LGBTQ+ couples. Lorie Smith, the owner of the web design business 303 Creative LLC, challenged the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act (CADA) by suing to request that her business be allowed to deny […]
Colorado Bans LGBTQ+ Panic Defense in Courtrooms
Colorado has become the 11th state to ban the LGBTQ+ “panic defense.” On Monday, Governor Jared Polis signed the bill into law, prohibiting defendants from using the gender identity or sexual orientation of a victim to excuse their behavior in the courtroom. “This bill is going to help us ensure that there aren’t biased arguments […]
Colorado To Vote on Late-Term Abortion Ban in November
An initiative to ban abortions after 22 weeks has made it onto the November ballot in Colorado after collecting 153,204 signatures, according to the Colorado Secretary of State. The initiative, backed by the group Due Date Too Late, proposes to make it illegal to perform abortions at 22 weeks or later. This includes cases where […]
Colorado Group Says It Has The Signatures for Late-Term Abortion Ban Ballot Initiative
A Colorado advocacy group seeking to ban abortion after 22 weeks said yesterday it has collected enough signatures for the issue to appear on the November ballot. The ballot measure Initiative 120, which is supported by the Due Date Too Late group, seeks to ban all abortions after 22 weeks, with an exception only if […]
Masterpiece Cakeshop Owner Faces Second Lawsuit for LGBTQ Discrimination
Autumn Scardina is the plaintiff in the second lawsuit against Masterpiece Cakeshop Owner Jack Phillips for LGBTQ discrimination. The lawsuit argues that the business unlawfully refused service to Scardina, a transgender woman, who requested a trans-themed birthday cake. Scardina had previously filed a complaint against Phillips when the refusal happened in 2018, but Phillips sued […]
Colorado Abolishes the Death Penalty
Colorado abolished the penalty on Monday, making it the twenty-second state to do so. Governor Polis signed a bill after it passed the State House and Senate earlier this year. Capital punishment was halted in 1972 through Furman v. Georgia as “cruel and unusual punishment,” but then reinstated through Gregg v. Georgia in 1976. Since […]
Colorado Replaces Columbus Day with A Paid Holiday That Celebrates a Woman
Colorado passed a bill this week to replace Columbus Day with Cabrini Day in an effort to better represent the diversity of its community. It will now be the first paid state holiday in the country to celebrate a woman. The holiday now honors Frances Xaxier Cabrini or Mother Cabrini, an Italian American Roman Catholic […]
Denver Teachers Strike Heads into its Second Day
Today is the second day of the Denver public teacher strike for higher wages, instead of the “unpredictable bonuses” they receive each year, and more than half of all Denver public school teachers are participating in what is the first Denver teacher strike in 25 years. Hundreds of central office staff members and substitute teachers […]
After Contentious Debate, Colorado House Advances Comprehensive Sex-Ed Bill
After 10 hours of debate, the Colorado House Health and Insurance Committee voted to advance House Bill 19-1032, a comprehensive sex education bill. The bill allocates $1 million in existing money to fund comprehensive sex education with a special emphasis on rural and underfunded public schools. The bill also requires schools to teach students about […]
Election Night 2018 Historic for LGBTQ+ Candidates
A week after the midterm election, Kyrsten Sinema was declared the winner of the Arizona Senate election, making her the first openly bisexual person elected to Congress and Arizona’s first female Senator. After Tuesday’s election, the total number of LGBTQ+ members of Congress is now eleven, the first time that the number has reached double […]
Women Win Across the Country in 2018 Midterms
Women won more seats in Congress yesterday than ever before, with over 110 women elected, including the first Muslim women, first Native American women, and two women in their twenties. The women who were elected include the former Teacher of the Year, small business owners, former military helicopter pilots, activists, a former CIA officer, and […]
Raising the Minimum Wage Wins at the Ballot Box
On Tuesday, four states voted to raise their minimum wages in light of Congress’ refusal to touch the federal minimum of $7.25 an hour.
Judge Rules Planned Parenthood Shooter is Still Not Competent to Stand Trial
A Colorado judge today ruled that Robert Dear, the man who has admitted to carrying out the 2015 shooting at a Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood, remains mentally incompetent to stand trial.
Teen Births In Colorado Dip 48 Percent Thanks To LARCs
Just five years since Colorado introduced an innovative family planning initiative providing little to no-cost long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARCs) to low-income women in 68 clinics, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment announced a 48 percent decline in teen births and abortions statewide.
Protestors Demand Justice After Denver Police Fatally Shoot Queer Latina Teen
On Monday morning, a 16-year-old lesbian Latina named Jessie Hernandez was shot and killed by Denver police. Now, her friends and family are uniting with communities of color and LGBT activists to demand justice.
While Colorado and North Dakota Rejected Personhood on Election Day, Tennessee’s Anti-Abortion Measure Passed
Voters in North Dakota and Colorado handily defeated two state constitutional personhood amendments yesterday. In Tennessee, however, a state constitutional amendment that gives state legislators more power to restrict abortion access and birth control passed.
Major Local and National Newspapers Want Colorado to Vote No on Amendment 67
18 newspapers in Colorado have spoken out against Amendment 67, a personhood amendment being decided by voters tomorrow which would ban all abortions and in-vitro fertilization in the state and restrict access to common forms of birth control.
Hulu Silences Rape Survivor Speaking Out Against Anti-Abortion Amendment 67 in Colorado
Hulu, an online, ad-supported streaming service, has refused to run an advertisement from the “No on 67” campaign in Colorado, citing the company’s policy regarding “controversial” political positions on issues like abortion.
Student Activists Across the Country Are Fighting Extreme Anti-Abortion Ballot Measures
In Tennessee, North Dakota, and Colorado – three states deciding ballot measures aimed at restricting birth control access and outlawing abortion in the upcoming election – student activists are mobilizing.
Activist Dolores Huerta Fights for Reproductive Rights in Colorado
Legendary human rights leader Dolores Huerta will be in Denver, Colorado next Friday to take a stand against proposed Amendment 67, a personhood initiative on their ballot this Fall.
