Citizen initiative could force gay marriage showdown in Colorado

State establishment political progressives, including the staff at gay rights group OneColorado, seem cool on Aurora college student Mark Olmstead’s plan to introduce a 2012 ballot initiative that would overturn the state’s gay marriage ban. There’s a sense that financial and human resources would be better spent pressing lawmakers to pass legislation securing equal rights for LGBT citizens here. Lone actor Olmstead’s initiative, however, might force the issue, drawing on the energy of New York’s big gay-marriage win this month and on the sea change shift among the U.S. population generally on the matter of gay equality.

Power to the people, say the people

Despite the demise of a bill to increase the percentage of votes needed to pass a voter initiated constitutional amendment in the Legislature this year, grassroots advocates recently voiced their opposition to the move they see as part of a trend by legislators to limit the power of the people.

VIDEO: Anti-abortion rights activist says heartbeat bill is ticket through Roe v. Wade

A major theme at this past weekend’s faith-based conference The Awakening at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va., was winning over young voters. During the two-day-long stream of panel discussions, workshops, movie screenings and Christian rock concerts, speakers discussed strategy on how to engage the young in politics (social media!) and social issues like abortion (capitalizing on the teen urge to revolt and fight for a cause).

Fetal homicide bill killed by misinformation

Misinformation ended the life of House Bill 1256 that would have made the willful killing of a fetus up to a 2nd degree felony in Colorado statutes, according to Republican prime sponsor Mark Waller, R-Colorado Springs. Waller said emails he received made it clear the bill would become the focal point for a fight over abortion, a fight neither he nor others wanted this year.

Women’s rights supporters use satire to battle latest ‘personhood’ measure

Colorado soundly defeated anti-abortion “personhood” ballot initiatives in the last two election cycles. Voters found the move to grant fertilized human eggs all of the rights of adult citizens of the state absurd and untenable. Personhood supporters have vowed to try again next cycle, saying they’re fighting an educational and moral battle and that winning will take time. The same battle is now waging in Georgia, where hard-core Republican Christian Rep. Bobby Franklin’s personhood legislation is drawing an outraged response from women’s rights supporters around the nation.

DeGette sounds alarm against attempt to strengthen anti-abortion conscience clauses

MSNBC host Chris Matthews this week asked Colorado Rep. Diana DeGette, head of the congressional Pro-Choice Caucus, about how the anti-abortion bills introduced as a top priority in the Republican-controlled House might affect Americans should they become law. DeGette said that, from the perspective of women’s health care, the bills are “riddled with little land mines.”

Personhood initiative only slightly more popular with Denver voters than space-alien commission

Politics fanatics at lefty blogsite Colorado Pols running numbers in the wake of the election note that nearly as many Denver County residents voted for the “laughing stock” ballot initiative to create a commission to explore possible…

‘Women’s issues’: Major factor or mere distraction in Colo Senate race

The media has ignited this week with stories in Colorado centered on “life” and “women’s” issues. Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet is underlining GOP rival Ken Buck’s conservative stance on abortion, which would limit access to fertility treatments and birth control…

Like Buck, Tancredo unsure what Amendment 62 would do

The question of the week for reporters is, are any of the 33 candidates who endorsed the Personhood Initiative (the Personhood 33), other than Ken Buck, clued into the fact that the measure would ban stuff like the Pill…

Post column gets it wrong: Buck has been talking social issues

Denver Post editorial page editor Dan Haley got a fact wrong in his column Sunday.

He wrote in reference to Colorado’s U.S. Senate race:

“No one in 2010 is talking about social issues except Bennet.”

Most likely, Ken Buck…