Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, December 15, 1993 TAG: 9312150161
SECTION: NATL/INTL PAGE: A2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: DENVER LENGTH: Short
Amendment 2 violates the U.S. Constitution's equal protection clause by usurping "the fundamental right of an identifiable group to participate in the political process," State District Judge Jeffrey Bayless wrote.
Constitutional rights cannot be submitted to a vote, he said.
The state said it would appeal.
"It's a terrific ruling. The ruling is a strong affirmation of gay and lesbian civil rights," said Suzanne Goldberg, an attorney for the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund in New York.
In a small victory for the state, Bayless said homosexuals don't need the special protections afforded minorities who have been victims of past discrimination.
The group Boycott Colorado, which had organized the protest against Colorado's huge tourism industry, announced it was lifting its boycott Tuesday.
The group claimed the boycott cost Colorado $119 million in canceled conventions, but state tourism officials have said the effect was negligible.
Amendment 2 would have banned state and local laws prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation.
It also would have canceled existing gay rights ordinances in Aspen, Boulder and Denver.
Colorado's measure had never taken effect.
by CNB