By: Nathan Woodliff-Stanley This year, Colorado voters will be asked to either support or reject Proposition 106, the Colorado “End-of-Life Options Act." After “Aid in Dying” bills were introduced three times in the Colorado legislature without success, enough signatures were gathered to put Proposition 106 on the ballot.  If approved by voters, it will add the proposed Act to our state code; it is not a constitutional amendment.  The ACLU of Colorado supports Proposition 106. The ACLU has historically been.... | Read More

By: Rebecca T. Wallace The ACLU of Colorado fully supports Prop. 106, but encourages all voters to carefully consider the concerns of the disability community.   I have been a staff attorney at the ACLU of Colorado for over six years and have wanted this job since I was a teenager.  The ACLU – and its unending fight to protect civil liberties – is in my blood.  Until just a few years ago, I did not question the basic premise, long supported by the ACLU, that terminally ill individuals have a constitutional and.... | Read More

By: Nathan Woodliff-Stanley Did you know that the Colorado Constitution still allows legal slavery, and that Coloradans can do something about it this fall? Colorado’s language parallels an exception written into the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, banning slavery and involuntary servitude “except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted.” When a group of faith and community leaders began a campaign last spring to eliminate the exception allowing slavery, many legislators.... | Read More

By: Rebecca T. Wallace (This column was published in the Colorado Springs Gazette on 9/28/16) In a recent Gazette article, it was reported that Spring Creek Correctional Facility is again erupting with assaults and riots, leaving youths and staff frightfully unsafe. After more than two years of hearing these kinds of reports from Spring Creek, it has become increasingly clear that the facility is plagued by an unforgiving and punitive culture that breeds violence and chaos. Staff now attribute the source of the violence.... | Read More

By: John Krieger Police in Aurora, Colorado, got a call about a man pulling a gun on a kid. They had no description of the suspect. On their way to the scene, they stopped two Black men walking down the sidewalk. Darsean Kelley, one of the men, followed the officers’ orders to hold his hands above his head and turn around. His repeated requests for an explanation as to why they had been detained went unanswered. Even though it was clear he had no weapons and he was no threat to the officers, Darsean was tased.... | Read More

By: Nathan Woodliff-Stanley This column was originally published on 7/29/16 in the Denver Business Journal. In any discussion of improving perceptions of the 16th Street Mall, it is essential to remember that the Mall is a public space, and therefore must be open to all segments of the public.  Any attempt to drive away some people because of how they look or how much money they have is an unacceptable abuse of individual freedom and civil liberties. It is also important to remember that for the most part, the 16th Street.... | Read More