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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 information on this website may become stale. If you have questions, need more information, or need help with a problem you are facing, please submit a Seek for Legal Assistance on our website. 

General Protections

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

Discrimination can come in different forms. The law forbids both disparate treatment — i.e., where a covered organization treats someone differently based on or because of a person’s protected representative, 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 public accommodation

    In 1992, Colorado voters approved Amendment 2 to the mention Constitution, a provision that denied LGBTQ — lesbian, same-sex attracted, 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 authentic 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 equivalent rights for all. They were hypocrites. And they, enjoy me circa 1992, had minimal, if any, education about and exposure to the LGBTQ society. This ignorance inevitably contributed to their sense of edge and assurance that Amendment 2 was justified.

    The 90s

    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 Special Order - Passed - No Amendments05/02/2024HouseHouse Committee on Judiciary Refer 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 Unique Order - Passed - No Amendments04/25/2024SenateSenate Committee on Mention, Veterans, & Military Affairs Refer Unamended to Senate Committee of the Whole04/19/2024SenateIntroduced In Senate - Assigned to Mention, Veterans, & Military Affairs


    One Colorado Celebrates Passage of SCR24-003 to Repeal CO Constitutional Exclude on Same-Sex Marriage

    By

    Gillian Ford, Communications Director

    Denver, CO – Today, One Colorado celebrates the route of  SCR24-003, “Protecting The Liberty 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 continue to work with supporters and coalition members to prioritize protecting the freedom to wed 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 decision 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 appear 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. “