"We don't believe we should legislate what happens inside a church or place of worship, but government should treat all people equally ... It's time to pass civil unions."

-Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper in his State of the State address, January 12, 2012

In the News

If you have not seen it yet, check out this story that appeared in the October 14th issue of the Catalyst, CC's own student newspaper. Lizzie Schoder speaks to Andrew Wallace about how the project got started and where it hopes to go. Find the article here.

[NOTE: The article mistakenly states that Amendment 2 was voted into law in 1972 and overturned by the  Supreme Court in 1986. Amendment 2 was actually voted into the Colorado constitution in 1992, to be overturned by the Supreme Court in 1996 in the case of Romer v. Evans.]

Introducing "Remember When..."

I am excited to announce a new element of this blog, the 'Remember When' series. Don't dwell to much on the title (I didn't) but do ask yourself the question. Do you remember when in 1973, the American Psychiatric Association decided that homosexuality was no longer a mental illness? Do you remember when the Matachine Society became one of the first organizations fighting for the betterment of the lives of homosexuals? You probably don't. I certainly did not come across this stuff in my high school history classes.

We will be periodically posting vignettes of interesting and important moments in queer history, providing links, videos, and other cool online resources to (hopefully) inspire a curiosity in the past and provide context for our own project interviews when they are published here. Stay tuned for our first posting next week!

And if you know of a historical moment that you think we should feature, by all means send it our way! You could even write the post yourself!

-Andrew

"It's Time" : A Second Try for Civil Unions in Colorado

Thinking historically, as we have been doing here at the history project, can have the effect of distracting us from important contemporary issues facing the LGBTQ community. It is easy to relegate injustice to memory and take comfort in the belief that things are surely better than than were. No doubt things have changed and yes, the progress we have seen in this country has largely been away from injustice and towards more just and equal treatment of non heterosexual Americans. After all, we can watch boys kissing on prime time television and gay men and women can serve openly in the military. Something is changing...

Despite this progress - and I certainly do not mean to belittle the important victories achieved - there is much to be done, much to fight for still. I was reminded of one of these persistent impediments to equality this evening at  a rally for civil unions hosted by One Colorado and the Strong Families Coalition right here at CC's Cornerstone Arts Center. The event brought together supporters and activists from around the state to recognize the official start of One Colorado's 2012 Campaign for civil unions. The rally just happened to coincide with the opening of 2012 legislative session. Hours earlier Sen. Pat Steadman (D- Denver) introduced the Colorado Civil Union Act to the General Assembly.

Brad Clark, Executive Director of One Colorado, addresses the crowd at the civil union kick off rally. January 11, 2012.

We heard from community members, activists, mothers, lovers, and allies dedicated to fighting for legislative action that would provide same sex couples those most basic rights currently denied them. As it was iterated and reiterated this evening, it's time for change.