Amendment 2

"Colorado for Family Values, led by local car dealer Will Perkins, petitioned to place Amendment 2 in the state constitution to prohibit minority status, quota preferences, protected status or claim of discrimination for homosexuals. Their claim was that that gays shouldn’t get “special rights.” Put on the statewide ballot in 1992, the amendment was approved by 53% of Colorado voters on November 3. Taken aback, opponents of the amendment were shocked and reaction was swift. Opponents organized boycotts of the city, Perkins’ car dealership, and the entire state. Groups such as the U.S. conference of mayors cancelled conventions, cities issued travel bans to Colorado for their public employees, movie stars lent their names in protest, and businesses and nonprofits changed plans to relocate to the state."^[1]

"The gay activist group Organizations/Ground Zero formed to focus opposition and challenge stereotypes and misperceptions about gays and lesbians. Opposition in Colorado Springs led to the Citizen’s Project, an organization formed in 1993 to monitor conservative religious groups in the city, and the local weekly alternative newspaper, the Colorado Springs Independent, launched in 1993."^[1:1]

Photos

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Key Dates

• November, 1992 - Amendment 2 passes, which amended the Colorado state constitution to make it illegal to discriminate based on sexual orientation. This gained Colorado the name "The Hate State." #key-date
• May 20, 1996 - The Supreme Court strikes down Amendment 2, ruling it unconstitutional. #key-date

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References

Anything to add?