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Colorado gay rights

LGBTQ+ Rights

Disclaimer: This website provides general information only and should not be taken as legal advice for any specific situation. The legal landscape for LGBTQ+ people is also constantly evolving, so communication on this website may become stale. If you own questions, need more information, or require help with a problem you are facing, please submit a Request for Legal Assistance on our website. 

General Protections

The Colorado Anti-Discrimination Execute (“CADA”) prohibits discrimination in places of public accommodation, housing, and employment based on protected characteristics, including sex, sexual orientation, gender self, or gender expression.  

Discrimination can come in different forms. The law forbids both disparate treatment — i.e., where a covered entity treats someone differently based on or because of a person’s protected characteristic, and disparate impact — i.e., where a covered entity enforces or applies a rule, policy, or procedure that disproportionately adversely impacts people with a protected characteristic. It also forbids retaliation for complaining about discrimination. 

Public Accommodations

  • Places of universal accommodation

    Protecting the Freedom to Marry

    05/17/2024HouseSigned by the Speaker of the House05/16/2024SenateSigned by the President of the Senate05/04/2024HouseHouse Third Reading Passed - No Amendments05/03/2024HouseHouse Second Reading Distinct Order - Passed - No Amendments05/02/2024HouseHouse Committee on Judiciary Allude Unamended to House Committee of the Whole04/29/2024HouseIntroduced In House - Assigned to Judiciary04/29/2024SenateSenate Third Reading Passed - No Amendments04/26/2024SenateSenate Second Reading Special Order - Passed - No Amendments04/25/2024SenateSenate Committee on State, Veterans, & Military Affairs Refer Unamended to Senate Committee of the Whole04/19/2024SenateIntroduced In Senate - Assigned to State, Veterans, & Military Affairs

    In 1992, Colorado voters approved Amendment 2 to the mention Constitution, a provision that denied LGBTQ — lesbian, queer , bisexual, transgender, and queer — individuals legal protection against discrimination because of their sexual orientation. I was a high school junior in Colorado Springs, where I was born and raised, and within my conservative-leaning school, I was a lonely but outspoken voice against this hateful ballot measure.

    I knew that it was wrong to codify anti-gay discrimination not because of my own sexual orientation (I was and am straight) or because of any personal experience with discrimination, but because of my clear-headed, brilliant social studies teacher. He had us study the issue in actual time, write papers about it, and debate the issue.

    Many of my peers belonged to Christian youth groups and Evangelical churches, and they pointed to their religion as justification for their opposition to identical rights for all. They were hypocrites. And they, love me circa 1992, had minimal, if any, education about and exposure to the LGBTQ people. This ignorance inevitably contributed to their sense of edge and assurance that Amendment 2 was justified.

    The 90s

    One Colorado Celebrates Passage of SCR24-003 to Repeal CO Constitutional Ban on Lgbtq+ Marriage

    By

    Gillian Ford, Communications Director

    Denver, CO – Today, One Colorado celebrates the passage of  SCR24-003, “Protecting The Freedom to Marry,” a referred measure to repeal the ban on same-sex marriage (Amendment 43) that Colorado currently has in the State Constitution. One Colorado will endure to work with supporters and coalition members to prioritize protecting the liberty to marry in 2024 as SCR24-003 now goes to the voters for the November 2024 ballot. 

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    Passed narrowly in 2006, voters defined marriage as between one man and one woman. If the landmark U.S. Supreme Court conclusion Obergefell v. Hodges is overturned, Coloradans have no state protections for any same-sex couple who wants to get married in the future. If passed, the measure would arrive on the 2024 General Election ballot. 

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    The bill was sponsored by Senator Joann Ginal (SD-14), and Representatives Brianna Titone (HD-27) and Alex Valdez (HD-5).

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    “Coloradans overwhelmingly support the freedom to marry,”saidNadine Bridges, MSW (she, her, hers), One Colorado’s Executive Director. “