The Denver Post
May 18, 1993, pg 2B
By Howard Pankratz, Legal Affairs Writer
Colorado homosexuals have no fundamental right as a group to participate in the
political process, the state attorney goeneral's office said in a brief filed
yesterday with the Colorado Supreme Court.
In a rebuttal to briefs filed by a coalition of lesbians, gays and three
Colorado cities over Amendment 2, the state said homosexuals never have been
recognized as a separate class deserving heightened protection from
discrimination.
Federal law prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, national origin,
religion, gender, age and handicap, but federal courts have yet to recognize a
persons's sexual orientation as cause for such protection.
"In truth, the plaintiffs' newly found 'right' to equally participate in the
political process is little more than a prescription for social and political
chaos...This court should not be a partner in such a foolhardy enterprise,"
said the state brief, filed a week before the state's high court hears oral
arguments on Amendment 2.
The state said Amendment 2 promotes religious rights, maintains the integrity
of established civil rights protections and achieves statewide uniformity.
Also, it expresses society's moral judgment that certain behavior or orienta-
tion should not be the basis for additional or special rights."
In January, Denver District Judge Jeff Bayless issued an injunction preventing
the measure from taking effect, saying it appears to sanction "private biases"
against homosexuals and bisexuals and would bar them from avenues of redress
and complaint through normal channels.
The state is asking the Colorado Supreme Court to reverse Bayless.
Amendment 2 would repeal anti-discrimination laws passed for gays in Denver,
Boulder and Aspen and would forbid passage of any more such laws.
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