On eve of oral arguments for Oklahoma’s marriage case before the Denver-based 10^th Circuit Court of Appeals, coalition of 215 faith leaders say they support marriage equality for gay and lesbian couples

DENVER – Why Marriage Matters Colorado, the broad coalition working to remove discrimination from Colorado’s constitution and secure the freedom to marry for all committed couples, today announced that a coalition of 215 clergy and faith leaders in Colorado support marriage equality. The announcement comes in between two weeks of oral arguments for the Utah and Oklahoma marriage cases before the 10^th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, based in Denver.
“I support the freedom to marry for gay and lesbian couples because, as a Christian, I believe in the power of covenanted, loving relationships, no less for same-sex couples,” said the Rev. Dr. Benjamin J. Broadbent, minister of First Congregational Church of Colorado Springs. “Many of my friends and congregants are lesbian or gay, and I want them to have the same rights and recognition I enjoy in my own marriage.”
The coalition – Faithful Voices for Strong Families – is composed of ministers, pastors, rabbis, chaplains, non-profit directors, and seminary professors from a range of different faith traditions. This group includes faith leaders in Colorado Springs, Loveland, Fort Collins, Greeley, Pueblo, Grand Junction, Buena Vista, Gunnison, and the Denver metropolitan area.
“As people of faith, we believe in practicing the Golden Rule, treating others as we would want to be treated,” said Jeremy Shaver, spokesperson for the Faithful Voices Coalition. “All loving and committed couples deserve to be treated with respect, and the freedom to marry gives them that respect. As faith leaders, we also support religious freedom. No clergyperson, house of worship or religious organization will ever be forced to perform a wedding that violates their religious beliefs. We can have marriage equality and protect religious freedom at the same time.”
Additional representatives of the Faithful Voices Coalition have shared their own reasons for supporting the freedom to marry:
Rev. Jessica Rooks, Pastor, Cameron United Methodist Church, Denver:
“I believe we are all created in the image of God; an image of goodness and love. We live into the fullness of who we are when we are empowered to enter into loving, mutually beneficial relationships. We live into the fullness of who we can be when our inherent worth is recognized, honored and upheld. We begin to live into the fullness of what our community can be, grounded in God's love, with marriage equality.”
Rev. Bonnie Sarah Spencer, Rector, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Fort Collins:
“As a Christian and a clergyperson in the Episcopal Church, I support marriage equality for gay and lesbian couples in Colorado. God’s love and embrace reach to all people, and LGBT folks are certainly included in that embrace. I believe these committed couples should be able to participate fully in their faith communities and in our society by having the freedom to marry.
Rabbi Benjamin (Jamie) Arnold, Congregation Beth Evergreen, Evergreen:
“I see no legal, rational, social, spiritual, or Biblical basis for denying same-sex couples the rights and responsibilities of marriage. As a member of a minority faith, and a rabbinic leader of a religious movement that not only tolerates, but fully celebrates the sacred covenant of marriage between same-sex couples, I regard state and federal bans on such marriages as an infringement upon my community’s constitutional right to freedom of religious expression.”
Rev. Rebecca Kemper Poos, Pastor, Congregational United Church of Christ, Buena Vista:
“As people of faith living in Christian community, we believe that ‘every good and perfect gift comes from God, our Creator.’ Every person is sacred, and every relationship based on love, commitment and faithfulness is holy in God's sight. Marriage equality for all God's children is our faithful response to the fullness of God's gifts. The time for marriage equality is now.”
Why Marriage Matters Colorado is broadening the dialogue with Coloradans about why marriage is important to same-sex couples and their families and why it is consistent with the values of liberty and freedom. More information on this statewide initiative – which is being spearheaded by leading statewide LGBT advocacy group One Colorado, ACLU of Colorado, and Freedom to Marry – can be found here: www.whymarriagematterscolorado.org

Statement of ACLU of Colorado Public Policy Director Denise Maes

"Today's unanimous passage of Senate Bill 64 is further evidence of a growing consensus among lawmakers, prison officials, and civil liberties advocates in Colorado that warehousing prisoners with mental illness in long-term solitary confinement is a cruel, costly, and unlawful practice that unnecessarily jeopardizes public safety.
"The legislation, championed by Senator Jesse Ulibarri, solidifies and provides critical funding to implement reforms initiated recently by the Department of Corrections to provide adequate out-of-cell treatment for prisoners with serious mental illness, rather than sticking those prisoners in 23 hour-a-day solitary cells.  Treatment aimed at rehabilitation is critical, because 97% of today's prison population will eventually be back in our communities and live as our neighbors.
"The ACLU of Colorado urges swift action in the House to finalize this groundbreaking legislation and deliver it to the Governor."
Visit the Stop Solitary campaign page: https://aclu-co.org/campaigns/stop-solitary/

Out of Sight, Out of Mind – The Story of Sam Mandez: http://vimeo.com/78840078

Read our report on mentally ill Colorado prisoners in solitary confinement: https://aclu-co.org/news/co-prisons-continue-to-warehouse-mentally-ill-in-solitary-confinement

Bill was heard by the Senate Health and Human Services Committee on April 10, 2014 and was passed out of committee 4-3

Thank you Madam Chair and members of the committee.  My name is Stephen Meswarb.  I am the Deputy Director of the ACLU of Colorado, and I am here to speak on behalf of the ACLU in support of Senate Bill 175.
The ACLU has consistently advocated for policies that support women’s decision making, advance women’s health and well-being, and ensure strong, healthy families. This bill does that.
In the last several years, we have seen the most significant state legislative attacks on reproductive freedom in decades.  In 2013, the ACLU and our allies battled legislation that sought to restrict access to the full range of reproductive health care in more than 30 states.
In some states, politicians are passing laws that ban most abortions; others are passing bills that block a woman from getting care for two or three days, or attempt to shame a woman out of her decision by requiring a doctor to give her biased, and often medically inaccurate, state-mandated information.  These restrictions are clearly designed as political interference in a woman’s medical decision-making and not part of a true informed consent process.
Colorado has been no exception.  Our state has seen its fair share of attacks on reproductive health care access, despite a long history of very clear support for reproductive freedom and privacy by Colorado voters.
In 1967, Colorado became the first state in the nation to liberalize its abortion laws, six years ahead of Roe v. Wade.  Since that time, our state’s voters have consistently and repeatedly strongly opposed attempts to inject the government into private health care decisions that should be made solely by women and their families, their doctors, and their faith.
In 2008 and 2010, Colorado voters rejected personhood initiatives by over 40-point margins, and we will face yet another such attempt this fall.  Each year, abortion bans and other attempts to limit reproductive health care are introduced, and fail, in this legislature.
This bill will stop Colorado from following the path of other states where politicians have interfered with women’s rights to an abortion and to private reproductive health care decisions.
With this bill, Colorado has an opportunity to put a stop to these out-of-touch and unconstitutional attempts once and for all. It will affirm the will of Colorado voters and ensure that every Coloradan has the right to make their own, individual, private reproductive health care decisions, in consultation with their doctor, not the government.
Deciding whether and when to become a parent is one of the most private and important decisions a person can make.  This bill would help protect a woman’s ability to make those decisions privately in consultation with her doctor and her family – and without political interference.
Government interference in reproductive health decisions does not represent the values of Coloradans.  The people of our state believe we should be able to make these decisions for ourselves without politicians and politics getting in the way.
For all these reasons, I urge you to vote yes on this bill.  Thank you for the opportunity to be here today.