(From the ACLU Blog of Rights)

July 24, 2014
DENVER – The ACLU of Colorado is excited to announce that Dennis Parker, Director of the ACLU National Racial Justice Program (RJP), will be the featured speaker at the Annual Carle Whitehead Bill of Rights Dinner on Friday, October 17th at The Four Seasons Hotel in downtown Denver.
With its focus on racial profiling, affirmative action, indigent representation, felon enfranchisement issues, and the school-to-prison pipeline which funnels children of color from the educational system into the criminal justice system, the RJP seeks to remove barriers to equal opportunity for communities of color through litigation, public education, community organizing and legislation.
Prior to joining the ACLU, Mr. Parker was the Chief of the Civil Rights Bureau of the Office of the New York State Attorney. He also worked for fourteen years at the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund litigating scores of cases involving elementary and secondary education, affirmative action in higher education and equal educational opportunity. Other positions included work at the employment firm of Vladeck, Waldman, Elias and Engelhardt and the New York Legal Aid Society, Criminal Defense Division in Brooklyn, New York.
Mr. Parker lectures extensively on civil rights issues and is an adjunct professor at New York Law School. He is a graduate of Middlebury College and Harvard Law School.
At the Carle Whitehead Bill of Rights Dinner, the ACLU of Colorado will honor the late Dr. Vincent Harding, a nationally-recognized civil rights leader whose work as a writer, a teacher, and a champion of civil liberties inspired generations of students and advocates.
Laura Rovner will also be honored at the event for her outstanding legal work as the Director of the University of Denver’s Civil Rights Law Clinic, and Bob Connelly will be recognized for his many years of service and dedication as a board member of the ACLU of Colorado.
For more information about the event, purchasing tickets, or becoming a sponsor, please contact Rachel Pryor-Lease at 720-402-3105 or [email protected].

July 23, 2014
DENVER – Today, U.S. District Judge Raymond P. Moore declared Colorado’s marriage ban unconstitutional -- the latest of dozens of state and federal rulings striking down similar bans across the country. State Attorney General John Suthers has continued to defend Colorado's ban, despite acknowledging that it is likely to be overturned in the end. Suthers has already wasted taxpayer dollars on the appeal of the state-level ruling, and he has indicated that he intends to waste further state resources on an appeal of today's federal decision. Were he to drop his needless appeals in these cases, marriage equality would come to the Centennial State.
In response to these developments, Wendy Howell, State Director of Why Marriage Matters Colorado – the broad coalition working to secure the freedom to marry for all committed couples in the state – released the following statement:
"Today, Judge Moore affirmed what Adams County District Court Judge C. Scott Crabtree, the justices of the 10th Circuit Court, and dozens of other judges nationwide have decided: marriage bans are unconstitutional. We applaud his ruling as another step forward for equality, and we continue to call upon Attorney General John Suthers to drop his wasteful defense of Colorado’s unconstitutional ban.
"Republican governors in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Nevada have all decided to stop wasting taxpayer dollars continuing to defend indefensible bans in their states. Here in Colorado, real couples are hurt every day that they are denied the ability to marry, and there is no justifiable reason to prolong that pain. Therefore, we again call upon Suthers to drop his appeals and let the rulings stand.
"Many organizations, leaders, and taxpayers in Colorado have called upon the Attorney General to drop his unnecessary appeals and let the freedom to marry come to Colorado. Most recently, more than 5,000 Coloradans signed a petition calling on Suthers to drop his appeal in the state court case -- those petition signatures were delivered last Thursday to his Denver office by a delegation of impacted couples, members of the state legislature, faith leaders, and other community leaders."