Colo. Second District Democratic Rep. Jared Polis

“No law that denies any American the right to marry the person that they love can be called constitutional, moral or just,” he said in a release. “Today’s decision by the 9th Circuit is a victory for the cause of justice and the ideal that we are all created equal and are all equal before the law. I am hopeful that the Supreme Court will come down on the side of marriage equality and recognize the committed and loving relationships of millions of American couples.”

Polis was joined in celebrating the ruling by Colorado LGBT-rights group One Colorado.

“Today’s affirmative ruling…that Proposition 8 violates the U.S. Constitution is a victory for all loving and committed same-sex couples in California and across the nation,” Director Brad Clark wrote. “We applaud the 9th Circuit for standing on the right side of history and affirming that fundamental freedoms such as the freedom to marry should never be taken away by a popular vote.”
 
In its 3 to 1 ruling, the judges, whose 9th Circuit jurisdiction includes districts in nine western states and two territories, from Alaska to Arizona, did not lift the ban on gay marriage in California, which remains in effect pending further appeal.

In commenting on the ruling, however, Clark gave voice to wide-ranging sentiment that sees the series of legal victories arising from the Prop 8 battle as enormously influential in part simply because they’re based in California, home to Hollywood, Silicon Valley and the Castro District of San Francisco, engines of U.S. cultural change.

“Today’s ruling, if upheld, will restore the freedom to marry in California and add our nation’s [most populous] state as another engine of progress for the country.
 

10-16696 #398_Decision

News of the 9th Circuit decision comes as gay-marriage-related proposals are scheduled to appear on ballots in Maine, Minnesota and North Carolina, for example, and as related legislative proposals, such as Colorado Senate Bill 002, sponsored by Sen Pat Steadman this year, come up for debate.

Steadman, whose 2011 version of SB 002 was killed by one vote in committee last year, told the Colorado Independent he was anxiously awaiting news of the Prop 8 court ruling today but that he didn’t see how it could immediately affect his bill, apart from providing the kind of cultural momentum that can influence political positions.

One Colorado has been a major advocate for Steadman’s civil unions bills and sees the Colorado legislation to be hotly debated and closely watched this spring as another vital chapter in the increasingly fast-paced national story of marriage equality.

“As this case makes its way through the courts, we will continue to pursue critical legal protections for all families here in Colorado. Civil unions will ensure that committed couples are able to take care of the people they love—until all families are fully recognized in our state.”

Evan Wolfson, founder and president of Freedom to Marry, the campaign to win marriage equality nationwide, placed the 9th Circuit ruling in the context of the “surging nationwide majority” of Americans now in favor of legalizing same-sex marriage.

“This monumental appellate decision restores California to the growing list of states and countries that have ended exclusion from marriage, and will further accelerate the surging nationwide majority for marriage.  As this and other important challenges to marriage discrimination move through the courts around the country, Freedom to Marry calls on all Americans to join us in ensuring that together we make as strong a case in the court of public opinion as our legal advocates are making in the courts of law.  By growing the majority for marriage, winning more states, and tackling federal discrimination – Freedom to Marry’s ‘Roadmap to Victory’ – we maximize our chances of winning when one case or another finally reaches the U.S. Supreme Court.” 

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In the video, Franken calls on all Americans to support marriage equality for same-sex couples.

“I support marriage equality,” he says in the video. “My wife, Franni, and I have been married for 36 years, many of them happy.”

Franni Franken appears alongside the senator in the video.

“Everybody should be able to marry the person they love, and I think government should help people make those loving lifelong commitments,” Franken said. “Please join me and the majority of Americans supporting marriage equality.”

“The government should not be in the business of getting between two people making a loving commitment to each other,” HRC President Joe Solmonese said in a statement. “We are grateful to Sen. Franken for his unwavering support for marriage equality, and know that he will continue to advocate for fairness and equality on behalf of the state of Minnesota.”

The campaign so far has worked with award-winning playwright Katori Hall, actor Josh Charles, Cleveland Browns linebacker Scott Fujita, comedienne and talk show host Aisha Tyler, actress Kim Wayans, movie director/producer Dee Rees, and Michael Kenneth Williams, the star of Boardwalk Empire and The Wire, as well as actor John Leguizamo, former NAACP chair Julian Bond, comedienne Mo’Nique, and Cory Booker, mayor of Newark, New Jersey.

New York Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand and Chuck Schumer, both Democrats, appeared in a similar video in the summer of 2011, when the state debated legalizing same-sex marriage, called “New Yorkers for Marriage Equality.”

Franken came out against Minnesota’s proposed anti-gay marriage amendment early last year.

“Every Minnesotan deserves dignity and equal treatment under the law, and our state’s same-sex couples should have the same right to marry as anyone else — period,” Franken said in a statement at the time. “This amendment would do nothing more than write discrimination into our state’s constitution and add to the barriers same-sex couples already face to the full recognition of their families. I’m hopeful that common sense and compassion will prevail and that this amendment will be defeated.”

Franken couldn’t be reached for comment on the video release. On Wednesday, the senator was working on the first ever Gay-Straight Alliance Day, where he spoke to student groups about the need for stronger protections for LGBT students.

“Our laws say nothing about sexual orientation or gender identity,” Franken said, according to the Advocate. “My bill would fix this. It will ban discrimination in schools based on sexual orientation or gender identity. Believe it or not, that is not illegal right now.”

Photo: Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn. (source: franken.senate.gov)

Released on Religious Freedom Day (the same day as Martin Luther King, Jr. Day), the letter claims that including same-sex couples in the definition of marriage usurps religious liberty. Essentially, the letter serves as an appeal against legalizing same-sex marriage in more states, citing a few examples of religious organizations that lost public subsidies when they defended their stances against homosexuality. Yet, each example provided occurred in states where same-sex marriage is currently illegal.

“One of these consequences—the interference with the religious freedom of those who continue to affirm the true definition of ‘marriage’—warrants special attention within our faith communities and throughout society as a whole,” the religious leaders wrote. “For this reason, we come together with one voice in this letter.”

Among those who signed the letter are the Rev. Leith Anderson of the National Association of Evangelicals, several leaders in the Southern Baptist Convention, the presiding bishop of the Mormon church, several Catholic bishops, and the national commander of the Salvation Army.

The letter writers assert that religious leaders will be victim to civil or criminal charges if they do not officiate same-sex marriages:

While we cannot rule out this possibility entirely, we believe that the First Amendment creates a very high bar to such attempts. Instead, we believe the most urgent peril is this: forcing or pressuring both individuals and religious organizations—throughout their operations, well beyond religious ceremonies—to treat same-sex sexual conduct as the moral equivalent of marital sexual conduct.

[...]

By a single stroke, every law where rights depend on marital status—such as employment discrimination, employment benefits, adoption, education, healthcare, elder care, housing, property, and taxation—will change so that same-sex sexual relationships must be treated as if they were marriage. That requirement, in turn, will apply to religious people and groups in the ordinary course of their many private or public occupations and ministries—including running schools, hospitals, nursing homes and other housing facilities, providing adoption and counseling services, and many others.

Ocean Grove, New Jersey

The religious leaders cite an example of a New Jersey church they say lost its tax-exempt status for not allowing a lesbian couple to rent its pavilion to have a civil union ceremony.

“[T]he state cancelled the tax-exempt status of a Methodist-run boardwalk pavilion used for religious services because the religious organization would not host a same-sex ‘wedding’ there,” states the letter.

What the letter doesn’t state is that the pavilion, owned by the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association, was receiving tax breaks for almost a century.

According to a New York Times clipping from 1908, the OGCMA land, on which the pavilion sits, was deemed tax-free.

“It was shown to the board by the association’s legal representative, Samuel A. Patterson, that the valuable strip of land, with its boardwalk, had been dedicated years ago by the association as a public highway, and not therefore subject to taxation,” the Times reported.

When the New Jersey Division on Civil Rights heard the complaint filed by the rejected couple in 2007, it found four reasons why the property was considered a public site, not a religious one, as the OGCMA argued.

Pavilion use was not limited to members of the church, and in fact couples of any faith — even non-Christian ones — could rent the pavilion. The church only used the property sporadically over the summer months and therefore could not be viewed as a house or worship. When not in use, the pavilion was available to anyone who walked by to sit inside or use as shelter from the weather.

The OGCMA even admitted that the pavilion was public. When the association applied for additional tax breaks in 1989 through the state’s Green Acres program, the OGCMA itself said the property was “open to all persons on an equal basis” and “was not restricted to religious uses.”

The case eventually appeared before an administrative law judge who ruled on Jan. 12 of this year that the space was public.

Judge Solomon A. Metzger noted (PDF) that the OGCMA had advertised the pavilion on its website without any indication of its religious nature or any restrictions.

But it was the Green Acres tax exemption that the judge said was important. “Respondent accepted a particular form of tax exemption that required it to keep the Pavilion open to the public,” Metzger wrote in his decision.

The church wasn’t forced to marry anyone, but it could not discriminate on the one small part of its property that benefited from taxpayer subsidy. The church owns the land under most of Ocean Grove.

San Francisco Salvation Army

In the letter, the religious leaders also cite a case in San Francisco.

“San Francisco dropped its $3.5 million in social service contracts with the Salvation Army because it refused to recognize same-sex ‘domestic partnerships’ in its employee benefits policies,” the letter states.

That complaint stems from a 1998 scuffle between the Salvation Army and the religious right. When San Francisco and a number of other large cities instituted policies that required entities doing business with the city to offer their employees domestic partnership benefits, the Salvation Army found a compromise: It would do so for its employees but not its officers.

“There exists a clear difference in how we deal with homosexuality as an employer and as a church in ministering to our followers,” the group said at the time. “We understand the need for our health care benefits to respond to the wide variety of personal interdependent relationships that we see among employee households today.”

Unhappy with this compromise, Focus on the Family and the American Family Association launched a pressure campaign that caused the Salvation Army to rescind those benefits two weeks later.

Due to the rescinding of that policy, the Salvation Army decided not to contract with the city of San Francisco going forward.

Portland, Maine, and Catholic Charities

The letter also cites an example from Maine.

“Similarly, Portland, Maine, required Catholic Charities to extend spousal employee benefits to same-sex ‘domestic partners’ as a condition of receiving city housing and community development funds,” the religious leaders wrote.

Portland adopted a policy in 2001 that contractors with the city needed to offer domestic partner benefits.

In 2001, Catholic Charities with the help of the Center for Marriage Law filed a lawsuit in district court. The court said that since Catholic Charities’ benefits plan was covered under federal law, it did not have to comply with Portland’s domestic partner law. But the court also said that other fringe benefits, such as bereavement leave and the Employee Assistance Program, were not covered by federal law and were subject to Portland’s ordinance.

Nancy D. Polikoff writing for the Washington Post noted that it was Catholic Charities that decided to reject the contract with the city of Portland for $85,000 and that, for all intents and purposes, Catholic Charities won that lawsuit.

“It’s wrong that private employers in states recognizing same-sex couples are allowed to discriminate in their employee benefits programs,” wrote Polikoff. “But that’s a problem with the federal law, and it has nothing to do with religion.”

Polikoff was discussing the successful 2009 push to grant marriage rights for same-sex couples in the District of Columbia and the threat Catholics Charities made to end its contracts with the city if it passed. It passed, and Catholic Charities announced it would not longer conduct public adoptions and foster care.

D.C. At-Large City Council member David Catania said at the time, “If they find living under our laws so oppressive that they can no longer take city resources, the city will have to find an alternative partner to step in to fill the shoes.”

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The study found that LGBT residents report many of the same concerns as those reported by the general population– anxiety over affordability, access and quality of care, for example– but that those concerns were exacerbated by discrimination or fears of discrimination, which lead many LGBT patients to hide the facts of their sexual and gender orientation. Many participants in the study also cited a lack of confidence that their care providers were trained to treat LGBT patients in knowing ways, sensitive to specific or unique concerns and experiences.

The study conducted last year was based on community health conversations and on an online survey of roughly 1,300 LGBT Coloradans. Results were presented in part in a series of five graphs.

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Writing at the PPP website, Director Tom Jensen notes the way the President seems to be regaining strong support among demographics key to his big victory in 2008.

“One thing that really stands out in this poll is the extent to which Obama has claimed the middle. He’s up 68-27 on Romney with moderates. He also leads by 20 points with voters under 45, a group there’s been some concern about slippage with, and he has a 66-30 advantage with Hispanics.”

That’s big news in swing-state Colorado, where nearly a third of voters are independents, where the growing Latino population exerts increasing political influence and where youth voters turned out in record numbers to vote for Obama last election.

Jensen writes that the caustic Republican primary, which has seen the former Massachusetts Governor run way to the right of past positions on flashpoint issues such as abortion and immigration, has cost Romney deeply among independent voters.

“Over the last month Romney’s seen his negatives with independents rise from 46% to 54%, suggesting that the things he has to say and do to win the Republican nomination aren’t necessarily helping him for the general. Obama’s turned what was a 45-36 deficit with independents a month ago into a 51-41 advantage.”

PPP surveyed 700 American voters for the survey from January 13 to 16 and reports a margin of error of +/-3.7%. The firm reports that it is “a Democratic polling company” but that “polling expert Nate Silver of the New York Times found that [PPP] surveys in 2010 actually exhibited a slight bias toward Republican candidates.”

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Family Research Council President Tony Perkins, who over the weekend participated in a meeting of politically influential religious leaders in Brenham, Texas, briefed reporters on a conference call Saturday about how the leaders had reached consensus and decided to back Santorum, a development he said was unexpected.

Perkins did not divulge the names of the leaders who participated in this meeting, but reports have come out identifying some of the participants, including Focus on the Family founder James C. Dobson; American Values President Gary Bauer; the Southern Baptist Convention’s Richard Land; American Family Association founder Donald E. Wildmon; the Rev. Jim Garlow of Skyline Church in La Mesa, Calif.; market researcher George Barna; former congressman J.C. Watts, who co-chairs Gingrich’s national campaign; and religious right activists Richard Viguerie; Richard Lee, and David Lane.

According to The New York Times, the private event was held at the ranch of former Texas judge Paul Pressler.

More than 150 people gathered for the event, Perkins said, and listened to surrogates from the presidential campaigns of Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul, Rick Perry, Romney and Santorum. Post speeches, the religious leaders prayed and debated candidates’ policies and ideologies. What followed were three paper-ballot votes. Perkins said approximately 150 people voted on the first ballot, which included all the major candidates minus Jon Huntsman, who dropped out of the race Sunday. The field was then narrowed down to Gingrich and Santorum in the second ballot. Santorum won the final vote, 85 to 29. (Somewhere along the way, the voting pool dropped to 114 people.)

Perkins told reporters that Gingrich and Perry supporters were asked if they would be willing to shift their support to Santorum, and the majority said yes.

“He’s obviously not as up as some of other candidates are in fundraising,” Perkins said, referring to Santorum, whom he called “reliable.” “But those issues can be corrected.”

As of Sept. 30, 2011, Santorum has raised approximately $1.3 million on the campaign trail, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. As a point of comparison, Gingrich has raised about $2.9 million, Romney $32.2 million, and President Obama is at the top of the fundraising heap, having thus far raised $86.2 million.

However, CNN is reporting that online contributions to Santorum’s campaign have increased by 50 percent since Saturday, allowing the campaign “to add several hundred thousand dollars to their previously purchased $1.5 million ad buy” in South Carolina.

When asked about the sudden coalescence around Santorum just days away from an important primary – which has for three decades predicted the GOP presidential nominee – Perkins was confident this small survey sample would impact the race’s outcome, despite popular belief that Romney will seize the nomination in the end.

“This is far from being decided,” Perkins said, pointing out that Romney has only won two primaries so far.

Perkins asserted that discussion about Romney during the discussion was positive, but he made no mention of any Romney support among the religious leaders. When asked by a reporter if Romney’s Mormon faith was a factor in the lack of support, Perkins immediately said, “That was not even discussed.”

But, unprompted, he quickly followed up with, “If it was, it was a side note.” He said discussion about Romney’s church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was gratitude for the Mormon involvement in social issues such as same-sex marriage.

Prompted for details about why Santorum was seen as the most electable challenger to Obama, Perkins was vague, stating that the former Pennsylvania senator has crafted a platform that echoes the social and economic policies of America’s conservative leaders.

Issues most important to the conservative leaders, Perkins said, are repealing Obama’s health-care reform act, reducing the deficit, and “addressing a number of pro-life concerns and family issues.”

Santorum fits the bill on all points, he said.

“It’s not news there’s not strong support among conservatives for Mitt Romney,” Perkins said. “Folks in this meeting have not resigned to the fact that he is going to win. The overwhelming belief is that a true conservative has the best chance of beating Barack Obama. … We don’t need to just change jerseys; we need to change the way we do business.”

Santorum’s economic plans: Cut, cut, cut

Santorum’s economic platform is not as often discussed as his social platform. On his own website, the candidate lists many plans that include cutting non-defense social programs; cutting or wiping out funding for government agencies and programs he disagrees with; and laying off many government workers and freezing others’ pay.

Upon entering office, Santorum says he would immediately reduce non-defense discretionary federal spending to 2008 levels. Additionally, he proposes to cut $5 trillion in federal spending within five years; to freeze defense spending levels for five years; to freeze spending levels for most social programs; to repeal Obama’s health-care reform law and replace it with “market based healthcare innovation and competition”; to pass a balanced budget amendment and cap government spending at 18 percent of gross domestic product. He proposes to freeze pay for non-defense federal workers for four years, cut the workforce by 10 percent, and phase out defined benefit plans for newer workers.

He would also cut all funding for Planned Parenthood, diverting “half of the dollars to support adoption instead”; cut resources for the Environmental Protection Agency; phase out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac within five years; cut funding for United Nations programs as well as the National Labor Relations Board “for decision preventing airplane factory in South Carolina.”

On taxes, Santorum says he will reduce tax rates across the board and would cut the corporate income tax rate from 35 percent to 17.5 percent.

In an analysis on Santorum’s policies, the conservative fiscal policy group Club for Growth has stated that the candidate’s record in the U.S. Senate was “above average,” but that his record “contains several very weak spots, including his active support of wasteful spending earmarks, his penchant for trade protectionism, and his willingness to support large government expansions like the Medicare prescription drug bill and the 2005 Highway Bill.”

Santorum on sodomy, birth control

Santorum is better known for his controversial views against reproductive and LGBT rights. During this election cycle, he has attempted to soften previous statements he has made about the gay community, same-sex marriage and birth control. But he can’t erase statements he made in 2003, particularly during an interview with the Associated Press, during which he compared homosexuality to incest, bigamy and adultery. As a result of that interview, which you can read an excerpt from here, some called on Santorum to resign his leadership post in the Senate.

In the same interview, Santorum defended laws that criminalize sodomy, because they undermine the basic tenets of our society and the family.”

“[I]f the Supreme Court says that you have the right to consensual sex within your home, then you have the right to bigamy, you have the right to polygamy, you have the right to incest, you have the right to adultery. You have the right to anything. … It all comes from, I would argue, this right to privacy that doesn’t exist in my opinion in the United States Constitution, this right that was created in [Supreme Court case] Griswold [v. Connecticut] – Griswold was the contraceptive case – and abortion. … You say, well, it’s my individual freedom. Yes, but it destroys the basic unit of our society because it condones behavior that’s antithetical to strong healthy families. Whether it’s polygamy, whether it’s adultery, whether it’s sodomy.”

Santorum has frequently told the public he “is not a believer in birth control,” including during this 2006 interview:

More recently, in October Santorum appeared on controversial preacher Bradlee Dean’s radio show and re-stated his support for sodomy laws.

From that interview:

“And I stood up from the very beginning back in 2003 when the Supreme Court was going create a constitutional right to sodomy and said this is wrong we can’t do this. And so I stood up when no one else did and got hammered for it. I stood up and I continue to stand up.”

Santorum added, “I do not believe that sexual orientation should be added to hate crimes, but let me be honest, I don’t believe in hate crimes, period.”

It was such statements that led syndicated sex columnist Dan Savage to launch a campaign among his wide readership to redefine Santorum’s last name. The winning definition – and instigator of Santorum’s “Google problem” – was “the frothy mixture of lube and fecal matter that is sometimes the byproduct of anal sex.” This year Savage renewed the naming campaign, and now “Rick” – to the chagrin of all Rick’s out there, including Texas’ governor and failing presidential candidate – means “to remove something with your tongue—the ‘r’ from ‘remove,’ the ‘ick’ from ‘lick.’” The political activist noted in his latest “Savage Love” column, now “rick santorum” is “the most disgusting two-word sentence in the English language after ‘vote Republican.’”

Photo: GOP presidential candidate Rick Santorum (source: Wikimedia Commons/Gage Skidmore)

While there was never any doubt as to whether he would sign such a bill, today he told the Legislature to get to work. Recent polling shows Coloradans support civil unions by a 3-1 margin. Civil unions legislation is expected fairly early in the session.

“As we strive to make Colorado healthier, we believe in equal rights for all regardless of race, creed, gender or sexual orientation.

“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.”

Other than that, his speech before both houses of the Legislature was pretty much what you would expect. He called for bipartisanship, for environmental stewardship, for energy development, for a more pro-business state, for a balanced budget and for better schools.

At the urging of Rep. Dan Pabon, D-Denver, Republicans sat with
Democrats side by side.

“Bipartisanship starts from day one,” said Pabon. “It’s important for us to take every opportunity to spend time with each other, breaking down partisan walls. The more comfortable we are with each other, the better we’ll be at coming together to get things done for the people of Colorado.”

House Minority Leader Mark Ferrandino, D-Denver, praised the speech, especially pointing out that it was Hickenlooper’s most direct endorsement of civil unions to date.

“The governor gave a great speech today. He issued a call to action to assure that Colorado’s future is brighter than its present.

“Governor Hickenlooper’s greatest talent is finding the common ground among different constituencies. He showed that again today in a speech that was warmly received by Republicans and Democrats alike.

“Thanks to Rep. Dan Pabon for his initiative in encouraging the two parties to sit intermingled for the governor’s speech. It boosted the spirit of bipartisanship today.

“Governor Hickenlooper reminded us legislators, and his much wider audience, that unlike Washington D.C., Colorado legislators work together. He encouraged us to take action to start up our economy, streamline our government, fix our budget problems, preserve our schools, protect our citizens and guard our environment.

“And I couldn’t agree more with the governor’s statement that ‘It’s time to pass civil unions.’ It was his most direct endorsement of civil unions legislation.

“House Democrats will be working with the governor for passage of legislation to help achieve all of these goals.”

The complete text of Hickenlooper’s speech, as provided by the Governor’s Office:

When people think of the West, it’s easy to envision wagon trains, Buffalo Bill, the glory days of the Gold Rush.

Cowboy hats come to mind … rocks … even beer … but let’s talk about hats.

John B. Stetson left Pennsylvania in the early 1860s, suffering from tuberculosis, and came west. He soon found himself panning for gold in the Colorado Rockies.

Fierce storms, without warning, would come up over the mountains and drench the mining camp.

Mr. Stetson saw a problem in need of a solution, and he had a unique skill. His father had taught him hatting as a kid, and he made a felt hat that could protect him from wind and cold. The other miners were envious. One fellow bought the hat right off his head for a $5 gold coin. A business was born.

By 1906, Mr. Stetson was selling 2 million hats a year.

Cowboys would sleep on their Stetson or bend it to provide better visibility. They would fill the hat up with water – ever heard of the 10 gallon hat? – because it was water proof on the inside. Cowboys still do this … and even a smattering of our legislators.

The story of the Stetson is about one of Colorado’s earliest entrepreneurs. Of course, back then almost everyone coming West was an entrepreneur.

That same spirit is with us today. Indeed, in some way everyone in this room is an entrepreneur.

You came here because you believe you can come up with solutions. You came here – under a gold dome that is getting a makeover of its own – to be inventive and create a better future.

President of the Senate, Brandon Shaffer, Speaker of the House Frank McNulty, Senate Minority Leader Bill Cadman and House Minority Leader Mark Ferrandino – it’s not easy to lead a room full of creative and imaginative people, is it? But you do it well, thank you.

Thank you all – every member of the General Assembly – for your service to Colorado. Thank you for your partnership. Thank you for sitting together today. And thank you for the kindness you have shown my family and me this past year.

I’d also like to thank the ever cooler Lt. Gov. Joe Garcia and his wife, Claire; Attorney General John Suthers; State Treasurer Walker Stapleton; Secretary of State Scott Gessler; and the distinguished members of the Colorado Supreme Court and Colorado Board of Education here today.

Speaking of good partners, Denver Mayor Michael Hancock is here as well.

Our thoughts are with Chairman Jim Newton Jr. from the Southern Ute tribe who was in a minor car accident this morning. We are pleased to have Councilwoman Pathimi representing him. We also have Chairman Gary Hayes from the Ute Mountain Ute tribe here. Your ancestors were here long before the Stetson, and we look forward our continued work together.

I owe special thanks to my wife, Helen, for her steadfast support, and to our own little entrepreneur, 9-year-old Teddy, who continues to inspire us both.

A final word of appreciation to the talented people we have been fortunate to lure into public service as Cabinet members and the Governor’s Office staff.

Thanks as well to Colorado’s state employees. Because of this recession, you have worked for four years without a raise … yet you continue to try and find opportunities to make our state more efficient.

This legislative session is not expected to be easy.

Cynics say it’s an election year and partisan fights will drown out any hope for success.

We believe the cynics are wrong.

The desire to solve problems that drives every entrepreneur is alive and well in this room.

We can work together.

We proved it when you passed a budget last year with 80 votes.

We proved it when we worked together to help secure the state’s financial health by creating a 4 percent reserve.

We proved it when you passed a health exchange bill that is now a model for other states.

Coloradans have little patience for partisan gridlock.

Unlike Washington D.C., we have shown the rest of the country that Colorado is a place where things get done.

The U.S. Congress could learn a thing or two from this General Assembly … and I know a few of you are eager to move to Washington to prove it.

Working together, we have made significant progress stabilizing the state budget.

We didn’t postpone hard decisions.

We made difficult cuts.

We put Colorado on a sustainable path going forward.

We face the current budget challenge in a stronger position today than a year ago. We are moving in the right direction, but we are still in rough water.

If you account for inflation, the state’s general fund revenue is $1 billion less than it was five years ago when the state had fewer people and was economically stronger. … $1 billion … and demand for government services has surged.

The number of children enrolled in public schools has increased significantly and more people are enrolled in Medicaid.

These facts are why we want to focus property tax relief on the seniors most in need, until we can restore the full senior homestead exemption.

We are proving that we can do more with less and live within our means like all working families in Colorado … even as the pressures on the state budget continue.

For example, in the Lobato case, a district court judge has ruled that the state is deficient in meeting school funding requirements under the state Constitution. We will appeal the decision to secure a final resolution of the constitutional issues raised in the case, but the question of finding additional revenue for education is one of our greatest budget pressures.

Colorado voters, nevertheless, rejected a proposed tax increase to fund schools.

That is one reason job growth is so critical.

If there were ever a time when Colorado needed to spur greater support for entrepreneurship to create and attract new business, it is now. One indelible fact is that small business and entrepreneurs thrive in proximity to large corporations. They depend on each other.

Large corporations, just like small business, want to be in places that are pro-business.

They want to be in states where partisanship gives way to partnership.

For too long Colorado has been losing large corporate headquarters to other states. That trend is changing.

A couple of years ago DaVita, a Fortune 500 company, moved its corporate headquarters to Colorado for all of the right reasons.

Last year was unprecedented with two new Fortune 500 companies claiming Colorado as their home base.

Recently, Arrow Electronics announced it is relocating its global headquarters to Colorado from New York.

This is the largest corporate headquarters to move into Colorado in the state’s history. It will involve the creation of thousands of jobs. A number of associated businesses will follow Arrow and a number of electronic businesses already here, of which there are many, will gain an advantage by being close to one of the largest electronics suppliers in the world.

The CEO of Arrow, Mike Long, is here today with his wife, Karen. We are very proud they are with us, so please join me in thanking Arrow for their commitment to Colorado.

As good as attracting a Fortune 500 company to Colorado is the organic growth of a local company.

In October, Level 3 Communications completed a merger with Global Crossing, becoming a Fortune 500 company overnight. This time, the consolidation of operations from around the country will bring jobs into Colorado instead of taking them out of Colorado. John Ryan, general counsel from Level 3, and his wife, Beth, are here as well.

On the heels of the Level 3 merger and the good news about Arrow, GE announced it would expand its investment in Primestar Solar by more than $300 million and build a thin-film solar manufacturing facility in Aurora. This facility, one of the largest of its kind in the world, will create 350 jobs and produce enough panels each year to power 80,000 homes. Jeff Wyatt, the general manager of Primestar Solar, and one of the original founders of the company, Russell Black, are here with us today.

We know that economic development comes in smaller packages, too.

The inaugural USA Pro Cycling Challenge last summer was viewed by a worldwide audience of more than 20 million people and generated more than $80 million in economic activity in Colorado.

USA Pro Cycling Challenge CEO Shawn Hunter is here today – we can hardly wait for the race to return in August.

We will follow it a month later with “Pedal the Plains” – a bike tour for the rest of us.

We think a bike tour across the Eastern Plains will not only be great for the sport of cycling, it will also give folks an opportunity to see where our food comes from.

It is worth noting that Colorado agriculture is leading the state out of this recession. Agriculture exports have grown more than 20 percent – I’ll say that again, 20 percent … which really makes us Colorado Proud!

Whether it’s world-class biking, or world-class skiing, or world-class fly fishing, our extraordinary outdoor opportunities are a critical component of our economy.

We are working with Mayor Hancock and an exploratory committee to consider the feasibility of hosting the Olympic Winter Games in 2022. Any pursuit of the Olympics, if that happens, should be done in an entrepreneurial way and with an eye on making Colorado the healthiest state in the nation. Let’s use sport as a way to promote better health.

Speaking of sport, please indulge me as I use 15 words of this speech (that would be in honor of Tim Tebow, folks) – to talk a little football: Good luck to the resilient Denver Broncos, beat those New England Patriots on Saturday night.

We know that the core business of government is not to create private sector jobs – entrepreneurs do that.

But we can help. What we do here and how we do it matters.

A commitment to partnership and collaboration can overcome the dysfunction of partisan gridlock.

We need to make government work better. Part of that means making government efficient, effective and of course elegant.

Last year we began a rigorous review of state rules and asked for examples of unnecessary regulation from Coloradans across the state.

We are scrubbing every state agency to eliminate red tape. Our plan is outlined in the report we issued this week called “Pits and Peeves.”

The Colorado Department of Transportation, for example, found rules that were out of date decades ago. The Department of Human Services recommended the repeal of 850 unnecessary rules.

This streamlining will help nonprofit organizations, as well as businesses, hire the next worker.

In addition to eliminating red tape, we are continuing to consolidate state services and programs where appropriate.

Thanks to your support, the state will see efficiencies from the merger of the Division of State Parks with the Division of Wildlife … the Supportive Housing and Homeless Program merged into the Department of Local Affairs … and we’ve assigned one manager to oversee the Divisions of Banking and Securities.

We will continue to work with you to identify other opportunities for consolidation.

We understand that government is not a business. Still, we need to apply best practices from successful companies where they make sense.

That is why we initiated the LEAN program in almost every state agency, where employee teams are now actively identifying waste and inefficiency to create savings.

Another way we can make state government more effective and realize cost savings is to bring the state’s antiquated personnel system into the 21st century.

The state Constitution is riddled with personnel rules and administrative procedures that are obsolete and should be reformed.

We are working with state employees on a package of reforms, but we need your help to go to the ballot this year with a proposal that will improve the way we manage state personnel.

And while we are not immediately seeking legislative changes to the state’s retirement program, we are mindful of the obligation we have to Colorado’s taxpayers and state retirees, to ensure that PERA is both stable and sustainable.

Another attraction to entrepreneurship is a climate of innovation.

We established the Colorado Innovation Network (COIN) to foster collaboration and idea-sharing across private sector, academic and public lines, including the 29 research laboratories in Colorado. This will multiply occurrences like Primestar Solar, where an innovation at the National Renewable Energy Lab translated into more than 400 jobs in Colorado.

COIN gives us a unique opportunity to incubate entrepreneurship and facilitate the transfer of new ideas to the marketplace. Ajay Menon, our Chief Innovation Officer and driving force behind COIN, is here today. Thank you for your work.

While COIN is privately funded, we are asking for a modest public investment to continue the success we had with Arrow and GE.

We are requesting $6 million to support the work of the Colorado Economic Development Commission … and $3 million for a revolving loan fund to provide low-risk gap financing so Colorado can compete with other states for film, video gaming and electronic media productions.

These investments will repay the state many, many times over.

Making Colorado the best place for entrepreneurship also means we must have good schools, a reliable transportation system and health care that is both affordable and accessible.

Even in difficult times, we need to right by our kids.

We seek your support in consolidating early childhood services under one roof to more efficiently and effectively aid children and parents. Currently, there are 23 separate funding streams administered through five different state agencies, each playing a role in early childhood support and services.

Together, we are proposing a state-local strategy that integrates prevention and intervention, quality early learning and family support and engagement. Our plan will consolidate early childhood services in a new office in the Department of Human Services.

The lieutenant governor is leading an effort to promote early childhood literacy, and in February his office will release a report detailing findings from his recent state-wide literacy tour.

Abundant research demonstrates that if a child fails to learn how to read by the third grade, that child is more likely to drop out of high school and faces an enormous uphill battle for the rest of his or her life.

We must develop intervention strategies with parents and teachers to identify failing students long before they reach the third grade and keep them from an illiterate future.

We are working on bipartisan legislation to make Colorado a national model for early literacy and ask for your support to get this bill passed.

Thanks to your work in passing SB 191 two years ago, Colorado is a nationally-recognized model for teacher effectiveness.

The Colorado Board of Education unanimously approved rules implementing SB 191, and we need your support to pass legislation approving these rules and authorizing $7.7 million to continue the implementation of these critical reforms.

Being a great teacher is hard work. … We thank you.

As many of you know, we have been thoughtfully exploring the potential benefit to businesses, injured workers and the state of Colorado from the separation of Pinnacol Assurance from the state. Done properly, and with the support of policy holders, a restructuring of Pinnacol could provide Colorado with a security interest that has the potential of funding economic development and higher education scholarships.

We asked a diverse task force of civic leaders and stakeholders with expertise in workers compensation to review this proposal. We look forward to sharing our recommendation with you before we move forward with a specific legislative request.

The link between higher education and economic development is very clear. They go hand in glove. So if we agree on a new future for Pinnacol, we hope you will also agree that funding for scholarships makes sense.

Fostering education, unleashing entrepreneurship, building a strong business climate and putting more Coloradans to work is at the core of our mission. But completing this mission would be hollow indeed if the cost of doing so ruined the very place we love.

So we mean to encourage the development of state resources to create jobs, but at the same time hold businesses accountable to the highest ethical and environmental standards.

Colorado’s energy sector holds tremendous promise.

We continue to build on the state’s reputation as a leader in promoting solar, wind and renewable energies and developing cleaner fossil fuels.

Colorado is blessed with abundant reserves of natural gas. With new discoveries in the Niobrara formation and technologies for extracting shale oil, we are poised to be a leader in unconventional energy technology as well.

The country is noticing what is happening in Colorado.

Earlier this year, we partnered with Oklahoma to draft a multi-state RFP to create a broad-based market for compressed natural gas vehicles we can use to replace existing state fleets. When we launched this effort we had no idea how many other states would join us. We are now up to eight and counting. Because the vehicles are cheaper to operate, many local municipalities are interested in joining us, too.

Now with the attention of automobile manufacturers, we are well on our way to putting cleaner-burning vehicles on Colorado roadways.

This effort was made possible only because we have a Governor’s Energy Office (GEO) with the staff and expertise in this area.

Colorado is a state with resources and a national reputation for developing clean energy.

We also start the year with the country’s strongest and fairest rule disclosing the ingredients in the “fracking” process.

The old geologist in me is champing at the bit to go into detail about this process, but I won’t. Of course, the brewer in me would like to talk about it over a beer.

Suffice it to say that this is a drilling procedure that has opened the door to a whole new era of energy development that can lead to more jobs, cleaner air and energy security for our country and the world. The ideas and innovations that created this revolution all occurred in Colorado.

When the Environmental Defense Fund and Halliburton stood together in Colorado in support of the state’s new “fracking” disclosure rule, other states took notice.

It’s another reason why we believe so passionately in the power of partnership and collaboration.

In that same spirit, we intend to work with counties and municipalities to make sure we have appropriate regulation on oil and gas development, but recognize the state can’t have 64 or even more different sets of rules.

Likewise, costly litigation and endless court battles have characterized the state’s water policy over many years – the Interbasin Water Roundtable Process represents a better way forward. The process created a historic agreement announced last year between Denver and the Western Slope.

We are forging similar collaborative agreements to ensure all Coloradans will have access to good health care.

As a result of the bipartisan legislation passed last year, we are well on our way to establishing a Colorado Health Benefits Exchange. We are doing it Colorado’s way and it will be ready at the end of 2013 to support small businesses and provide health insurance for 300,000 Coloradans who presently do not have it.

While making progress on the Colorado Health Benefits Exchange represents good news, the challenge is the economic downturn has meant a greater number of Coloradans are enrolling in Medicaid – and the costs of Medicaid are not sustainable for the state budget.

We are absolutely committed to bending the Medicaid cost curve and pursuing strategies that will cut Medicaid costs. We are tackling fraud, over-payments and eligibility.

We want to move away from the expensive fee-for-service system to one that drives toward value and rewards healthier outcomes. We have already started to make progress by focusing on preventive care, reducing obesity rates and improving the technology that links people to services.

These efforts will all result in important cost savings.

We are very proud of the work we have been doing with local governments to bring the Colorado Benefits Management System (CBMS) into the 21st century. This has been no small task. We need your support to fund the rebuilding of the system to ensure that eligible Coloradans can access benefits in a timely manner.

We are also proud of our work with communities along the I-70 corridor. We are moving forward to implement the most critical congestion relief projects: widening of the eastbound Twin Tunnel in Idaho Springs, and the continuation of a new eastbound third lane to Floyd Hill.

The Transportation Commission set aside $60 million to build the project by the end of 2013. It will be the first project to provide additional capacity since I-70 was built in the 1960s. Finally.

As we strive to make Colorado healthier, we believe in equal rights for all regardless of race, creed, gender or sexual orientation.

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.

We owe a special debt of gratitude to those Americans who wear – or have worn – the nation’s uniform.

We are joined today by Maj. Isaac Martinez, a member of the Colorado National Guard who recently returned from Afghanistan, his second deployment overseas.

His company was part of 16 major initiatives and traversed more than 1.1 million miles of enemy terrain without any serious incidents.

Maj. Martinez is a native of La Junta and has degrees from UNC and CSU. We want Maj. Martinez and his wife, Michelle, to know that he is returning to a state that honors our men and women in uniform, supports their families and offers practical and useful assistance as they re-enter civilian life.

We ask every community and every employer to embrace our returning service members!

We will pursue legislation this year that will make it easier for military spouses to use their licenses and credentials and work in Colorado if they are already licensed in another state.

We also aim to reward veterans for their service by upgrading the state personnel system, and expanding their ability to use preference points when seeking employment.

When veterans – and when all Coloradans – have work they are more likely to have homes. We must continue efforts to end homelessness in Colorado.

Michael George, who joins us today, is also a veteran who found himself out of a job and homeless. He worked with Mile High United Way and moved off the streets; he’s now a peer manager for a transitional housing program … and I understand he is a heckuva softball player – not to mention today is his 50th birthday.

Ensuring that all Coloradans have a place to call home is not only the right thing to do, it also impacts the health of our communities.

Together, we must create an economic environment where choosing between rent or groceries or medicine is unacceptable.

Our vision for Colorado includes successfully branding the state as a place that embraces entrepreneurship, supports a strong business climate, creates jobs, educates its kids, supports working families and protects an unparalleled quality of life.

The truth is our prosperity as a people depends on a great deal more than economic metrics.

Colorado kids must be educated, not just so they can find a job, but because the gift of education will last a lifetime.

We must preserve Colorado’s great landscapes, protect the state’s water and keep the air clean. Not just because this will attract businesses, but also because it is part of our moral obligation to future generations.

We obviously want entrepreneurship to flourish here because it creates opportunity.

We envision a Colorado where everyone has the opportunity to pursue their passions, secure personal prosperity and contribute to their community.

Ladies and Gentleman of the General Assembly, we have important work to do together in this building … and we must also do an even better job of listening to and engaging the people of Colorado.

As Abraham Lincoln said, “With public sentiment, nothing can fail; without it nothing can succeed.”

In the coming weeks you will hear details about a privately funded and non-partisan process of civic engagement called “TBD Colorado.”

Really, we tried to come up with a catchy name but TBD truly captures the intended outcome – it’s to be determined.

Like the Colorado Blueprint, TBD Colorado will focus on listening and not imposing top-down, government-driven solutions. Coloradans will be invited to share their vision and priorities for our state. In the sense that entrepreneurs try to find solutions to the needs and challenges of society, TBD Colorado will seek to tap that same spirit that exists, in part, in all of us in Colorado.

We look forward to working with you because everyone here – in fact, everyone in Colorado – is in some way an entrepreneur.

The soldier from Montrose who leaves active duty and learns new skills to re-enter the workforce is an entrepreneur.

The single mother from Fort Collins who creates a babysitting co-op to help with childcare is an entrepreneur.

The farmer in Holyoke who works 18-hour days and still finds time to teach FFA and 4-H kids is an entrepreneur.

The steel worker in Pueblo who coaches youth soccer and figures out ways to fund trips to weekend tournaments is an entrepreneur.

We all have the capacity for creativity and personal reinvention. We all have the capacity to contribute to our communities … and to make Colorado the best state in the nation.

Simply, we all have the capacity to make a good hat.

A few month ago, I was invited by Western Union to speak to 120 company executives from all over the world. After the event, a small group gathered and a young man from Indonesia spoke up.

He said the world is waiting for America to lead again. The world looks to us.

These past couple of years there have been few places in America where people have been able to resolve their conflicts with successful compromise. Imagine if Colorado, could somehow, through hard work and entrepreneurial will, be such a place.

Other states might copy us, and then still more states might copy them. Eventually, perhaps, even our Congress in Washington might be compelled to rediscover the glory of working together.

I believe that Colorado, by striving to be the healthiest state, the most entrepreneurial state, the greatest state, might better help this country, and, perhaps in some admittedly small way, help move the world forward.

As the young Indonesian man said, the world awaits.

God bless you, and God bless Colorado.

###

The old definition limited reports to female victims of “forcible” rape — leaving out male victims and victims assaulted while incapacitated by drugs, alcohol or other means.

Forcible rape, as defined in the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program, is the carnal knowledge of a female forcibly and against her will. Attempts or assaults to commit rape by force or threat of force are also included; however, statutory rape (without force) and other sex offenses are excluded.

This definition has been in use since 1927.

According a statement released last week by the U.S. Department of Justice, the new definition reads:

“The penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim.”

According to the DOJ, the FBI will use this new rape definition — as it used the old one — to collect information from local law enforcement agencies about reported rapes.

The result of the old definition, advocates and experts say, resulted in a significant underreporting of sexual assaults in the U.S.

“The FBI’s decision is tremendously significant and an important step in acknowledging all victims of sexual violence,” said Lauren Allswede, a counselor for the Michigan State University Sexual Assault Program. “Rape is the most underreported crime in general, but men specifically often hesitate to come forward for fear their identity or masculinity will be questioned. Raising public awareness about sexual violence dynamics, including accurate information about who is victimized, is critical. Everyone is impacted by sexual violence and anyone can be a victim of sexual violence. With a more inclusive definition, we hope that male victims feel validated and that community members and service providers better respond to a previously silenced and underserved population.”

Allswede is not alone. Nusrat Ventimiglia, director of victim services for Equality Michigan, said the new definition is important for the LGBT community. Equality Michigan, aside from providing political advocacy on gay issues, runs a program to track violence against the LGBT community. Not only does the group offer assistance for victims in navigating the criminal justice system but it also reports incidents to the FBI annually.

“The expansion of the federal definition of rape to finally count the sexual assault of males, as well as updating the problematic ‘force’ requirement is a long overdue, but welcome, change. The updated definition not only includes sexual assaults against males as ‘rape,’ but also counts as ‘rape’ penetrative assaults without consent (including non-consent by reason of incapacity), removing the requirement of ‘force,’” Ventimiglia said in an email statement to The American Independent. “We at Equality Michigan have counted a number of sexual assaults of males and provided support to these survivors in addition to other survivors who would not have been counted under the now obsolete definition of rape. Now the stories of these survivors will finally be counted among federal crime statistics. We hope that this will lead to more inclusive policies to fully address the problem of sexual violence.”

Katherine Redmond, executive director of the National Coalition Against Violent Athletes, which monitors sexual violence committed by or against athletes in the U.S., also praised the decision to change the decision in a Facebook chat with TAI.

Photo: Components of a Texas sexual assault evidence kit (source: taasa.org)

“Pundits are saying this session will be a partisan brawl,” he said from the House well. “I expect vigorous debate and disagreement. The opinions in this room are as varied as the topography of our state… We can show a skeptical public that the Colorado General Assembly is not the United States Congress… We can be partners not partisans. We can get things done for the people of Colorado.”

It was an historic day, a presidential-election-year session starting just as the presidential primary contests get underway and just as the state and national economy seem to be crawling out of recession. It is also Ferrandino’s first day as minority leader, the first openly gay man to hold a leadership spot in the House. He began his remarks with a knowing gag.

“The Democratic caucus this session is committed to maintaining a laser focus on jobs. Thank you,” he said with authority and then stepped down from the dais to a loud round of applause. It was a mock ending. He then rose again from his seat to finish his speech.

“You won’t do any better than that,” came a celebratory call from the Republican side of the chamber.

Members of the legislature this year will wrangle over contentious issues such as Medicaid reform, the education budget, property tax exemptions for seniors, the right for public employees to collectively bargain and the right for same-sex couples to enter into state-recognized civil union– the last the topic of a bill spearheaded by Ferrandino last year that was killed after gaining much momentum by Republican members of the Judiciary Committee. Yet, as has become clear to Americans watching the Republican presidential primaries unfold, “jobs” remains the political rallying cry here as it does in state capitals coast to coast.

Indeed, campaign politics are sure to play into the work of the state legislature. The question is to what degree. The state endured rancorous reapportionment and redistricting efforts last year and at least three members of the legislature– Democratic Reps Sal Pace and Joe Miklosi and Democratic Senate President Brandon Shaffer– are all running for Congress. Republican Senator Kevin Lundberg is also weighing a congressional run.

Ferrandino, played all of that down. Creating jobs is a bipartisan goal, he said, and one that should take top priority. He pointed to bills on the slate for this session that would encourage venture capital investment, cut red tape for small businesses, bolster entrepreneurial efforts and move research and development more efficiently to the market.

Ferrandino said he was looking forward to partnering with Republican House Speaker Frank McNulty to land much meaningful legislation on the governor’s desk this year.

“I said I wanted to partner with you, Mr Speaker. I never said anything about partnering with the Senate,” he said sarcastically after a delegation of senators wrapped up introductory remarks to the House.

Former Minority Leader Pace interjected.

“To clarify, Mr Speaker, when the minority leader says ‘partner’ in this context, it has nothing to do with civil unions.”

“Thank you for that clarification,” said McNulty, laughing.

Later, closing the day’s work, McNulty told a few straggling staffers and lawmakers that the first day seemed to go well.

“Everything went fine,” he said. “Everything went fine.”

[Image: Members of the Republican caucus cheer on Denver Democrat Mark Ferrandino during his Colorado House opening-day 2012 remarks. "Jobs!"]

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