Make Colorado a Civil Liberties Safe Zone
(Also published on the Huffington Post at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/582c94c5e4b08c963e3439c9?timestamp=1479318036366)
The rights and freedoms promised in the U.S. Constitution are the pride of our nation, and our history is defined by a constant struggle to make those promises real for all people, not just for some. For nearly a century, the ACLU has been at the forefront of defending and advancing these civil liberties, with many landmark successes.
Now our Constitutional rights.... | Read More
Thanks to all who celebrated with us at the 2016 Bill of Rights Dinner
(more…) | Read More
ACLU of Colorado Supports Aid in Dying
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
As a Civil Libertarian, I struggle with Colorado’s Aid In Dying Ballot Initiative
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
Take Out Slavery – Vote YES on Amendment T
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
Violence at Spring Creek: It’s not the kids, it’s the culture
(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