March 9, 2015
DENVER – Today, the State, Veterans, and Military Affairs Committee of the Colorado House of Representatives will hear testimony on House Bills 1161 and 1171, two “right-to-discriminate” bills that would eviscerate long-standing protections against discrimination by allowing individuals and businesses to claim their religious beliefs as an excuse to refuse to follow laws they don’t like – including domestic violence, public safety, and nondiscrimination laws.
The following is the prepared testimony of ACLU of Colorado Executive Nathan Woodliff-Stanley on HB 1161 and HB 1171:

HB 1171:

Thank you Madame Chair and members of the committee.  My name is Nathan Woodliff-Stanley, Executive Director of the ACLU of Colorado, and I speak in opposition to House Bill 1171.
This bill would tear a huge hole in the principles of equal protection under the 14^th Amendment, as well as public accommodation and anti-discrimination laws in Colorado.  It would open the door to many forms of discrimination that would undermine the fabric of civil society and harm countless Colorado citizens simply because of who they are.  And it does this in the name of religious liberty, which is what I would like to address right now.
The ACLU strongly upholds the principle of religious liberty, and what that means is that you have the freedom to believe as you choose, to personally say what you believe, to worship as you choose and assemble with others to worship, and to participate in public life or run for office with no religious test, regardless of what you do or don’t believe.
What religious liberty does not mean is the “freedom” to enforce your religious beliefs or practices on other people, to use the power of government to favor or promote your religion, or to discriminate in business or the public arena against customers or employees.  The ACLU has no opposition to religion, but the religious freedom we uphold has to apply to all religions and must respect equal protection laws.  We would uphold the rights of Christians if they are denied service, denied housing or employment or medical care, or otherwise discriminated against in public accommodations simply because of who they are, just as we protect people of any religion, race or gender identity in the public arena.
Don’t be confused by the language of religious freedom in this bill—in a land of many religious perspectives, we know what real religious liberty looks like, and this isn’t it.
HB 1161:

Thank you Madame Chair and members of the committee.  My name is Nathan Woodliff-Stanley, Executive Director of the ACLU of Colorado, and I speak in opposition to House Bill 1161.
This bill is yet another that would tear apart Colorado public accommodation and nondiscrimination laws.  The ACLU of course upholds freedom of speech and expression for all persons in this nation, but the idea that businesses should be exempt from equal protection, public accommodation or nondiscrimination laws if the business is “expressive” in some manner is just a way to allow virtually any form of discrimination in nearly any business against anyone the owners don’t like.   Any form of writing, cooking, assembling, advertising, decorating, or displaying could be considered “expressive”, so it’s hard for me to think of a business that would not be allowed to discriminate under this bill.
Because of religious freedom and assembly rights, we give enormous latitude in this nation to houses of worship or genuine religious bodies, but businesses or organizations in the public arena interact with employees and customers of any or no religion and they have to abide by public laws.  We could not function as a society if businesses could discriminate against anyone they want just by saying their religion lets them do it.  That’s what this bill would allow, so I urge you to vote against it.

(This entry also appears on the Huffington Post at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nathan-woodliffstanley-/colorado-civil-liberties_b_6820070.html)

Emboldened by some of last November’s election results, Colorado legislators have flooded this year’s legislative session with bills that would roll back civil rights and civil liberties in our state.  The ACLU of Colorado and our allies inside and outside of the Capitol have been successful so far in stopping the most outrageous attacks, but just a tiny shift in a few key races last November would have left Colorado in a very different place, where these bills would have been much harder to defeat and our whole state might have been sent backwards by decades.
Despite the clear will of Colorado voters to protect women’s reproductive rights last November, legislators have introduced at least eight bills this session to limit or ban abortion and other reproductive rights for women, including the same fetal personhood notion that voters just rejected. Thanks to dogged resistance from the ACLU of Colorado and our statewide partners, these bills have so far all been defeated.
In the House of Representatives, three “right-to-discriminate” bills were introduced that, if passed, would eviscerate long-standing protections against discrimination. The lawmakers pushing these bills claim they are about religious freedom and freedom of expression, but they were written so broadly that they would actually give any person or business in Colorado wide license to discriminate against anyone for any reason, violating equal protection rights and creating a hostile climate for customers.  Fortunately, many members of the business community, including the Denver Metro Chamber and several small business owners, have lined up alongside faith leaders and social justice organizations to rebuke these dangerous attempts to legalize discrimination.
At least ten other bills that were introduced this year were designed to repeal or roll back other civil liberties, by attacking voting rights, repealing worker protections, or singling out transgender Coloradans for special discrimination.  Again, the ACLU of Colorado has rallied our allies to fight back against every attack, so that the freedoms and protections that we’ve worked so hard to advance over the years will not be eroded.
One especially difficult battle right now is over a ploy by members of the Joint Budget Committee to undercut and essentially defund a law passed in 2013 by the full legislature to allow immigrant Coloradans access to drivers’ licenses.  Legislators who did not support that law do not have the votes to repeal it, but they are attempting to use their new positions of power to deny funding that is generated by the program itself, not by taxpayers, all to the harm of thousands of families and the safety of our roads, just to make a political point.
The margins between advancing, losing, or just holding ground in civil liberties are very narrow in a state like Colorado.  Voters would do well to pay attention to what goes on in the legislature and to take seriously the threat of legislation that may sound outrageous or laughable now, but that would be anything but funny if a few more races had tipped toward politicians who don’t respect civil liberties.  In some cases, the threat is real even in the current legislature, so your voice matters now to help hold the line against bad bills that target our rights.  At the same time, the ACLU is always willing to work across political lines, and there are still good opportunities for progress in this legislature on issues such as privacy and criminal justice reform.  The ACLU’s alignment is with civil liberties, not political parties. More information about this legislative session can be found at the ACLU of Colorado legislative update page.
Your voice and your vote are needed, this year and every year.  If you did vote last November, thank you, because it matters.  Just look at some of the states where voting rights, reproductive rights and protections against discrimination are under heavy attack and remember--there but for a handful of votes goes Colorado.

March 2, 2015
DENVER – Next Monday, the State, Veterans, and Military Affairs Committee of the Colorado House of Representatives will consider House Bills 1161 and 1171, two right-to-discriminate bills that would let individuals and businesses claim their religious beliefs allow them to refuse to follow laws they don’t like – including domestic violence, public safety, and nondiscrimination laws.
In response, a coalition of Colorado business owners, faith leaders, and community groups will gather for a press conference before the hearing at 12:30 p.m. in the West Foyer of the Colorado State Capitol. Speakers will urge members of the committee to oppose both bills and to send a clear message that religious freedom is important, that it’s already protected by the First Amendment in our Constitution, and that we can’t just let people pick and choose which laws they want to follow.
Due to the sweeping nature of bills like these, which are ripe for abuse and have already led to lawsuits across the country at taxpayers’ expense, a number of community groups and individuals have announced their opposition to HB 1161 and 1171 – including the Colorado Coalition Against Sexual Assault, Anti-Defamation League (Mountain States Region), Colorado Women’s Bar Association, Plaintiff Employment Lawyers Association, and former Deputy District Attorney Michael Carrigan, to name a few.
WHAT: Press conference opposing right-to-discriminate bills, HB 1161 and 1171
WHEN: Next Monday, March 9, 2015 at 12:30 p.m.
WHERE: West Foyer of the Colorado State Capitol
WHO: Former Deputy District Attorney Michael Carrigan Denver area business owners Keo Frazier and Andrew Feinstein Local faith leader Rev. Brian Rossbert Women's health and other community representatives