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October 16, 2014 VOLU M E 6 | I SS UE 42 | 5 0 ¢ SPECIAL SECTION
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A D A M S C O U N T Y, C O L O R A D O
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Lawsuit makes statewide impact Adams County judge’s ruling on gay marriage becomes law By Tammy Kranz
tkranz@coloradocommunitymedia.com
Rebecca Brinkman and Margaret Burd outside their Thornton home Oct. 8. The women were the first to file a lawsuit in the state challenging the ban on same gender marriages. Photo by Tammy Kranz
Wedding bells possible after 35 years Thornton couple rejoices after attorney general clears way for gay marriage By Tammy Kranz
tkranz@coloradocommunitymedia.com
POSTAL ADDRESS
After hearing the news on the drive into her Westminster office Oct. 6, Rebecca Brinkman raced to her desk to hurriedly type an email. “Will you still marry me?” She had asked the question before to the love of her life over the course of their 35 years together, but harbored little hope a wedding could ever happen.
“I never thought we would see marriage in our lifetime,” said the smiling 63-year-old Thornton resident, looking at her fiancée two days later. But because of a legal domino effect started by the U.S. Supreme Court last week, Brinkman and Margaret Burd, along with other gay couples in Colorado, can now legally marry. Brinkman and Burd were the first to file a lawsuit in the state challenging the ban on same-gender marriages. Brinkman and Burd met in 1976 when they were teachers in Kansas City, Mo. — Brinkman taught health and physical education and Burd taught math. Marriage continues on Page 5
Governor hopefuls stray onto new ground BRIGHTON BANNER (USPS 290)
Hickenlooper, Beauprez debate safety, housing issues
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By Vic Vela
PHONE: 303-566-4100
Gov. John Hickenlooper and former Congressman Bob Beauprez sparred over issues voters are familiar with at this point in the gubernatorial campaign during an Oct. 9 debate in Fort Collins, but they also addressed issues that haven’t been making as many headlines. Yes, the two tangled over the death penalty — as they have the entire campaign — but the KUSA-sponsored debate, held at Colorado State University, also focused on other areas of public safety, affordable housing and even red-light cameras. Beauprez, a Republican, blasted the Democratic incumbent for not fighting hard enough for a construction-law reform bill from earlier this year that he believed would helped rein in rising housing costs around the state. Beauprez said Colorado’s tough construction-defects law discourages builders from making affordable condos because of high insurance costs. “There is something, especially in the Front Range, that has driven up rents and housing prices and that’s called the construction-defects legislation,” Beauprez said. Beauprez said Hickenlooper provided
A legal newspaper of general circulation in Adams County, Colorado, the Brighton Banner is published weekly on Thursday by Colorado Community Media, 8703 Yates Dr., Ste. 210, Westminster, CO 80031. PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID AT BRIGHTON, COLORADO and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address change to: 8703 Yates Dr., Ste. 210 Westminster, CO 80031 DEADLINES: Display: Fri. 11 a.m. Legal: Fri. 11 a.m. | Classified: Mon. 5 p.m. G ET SOCIAL WITH US
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“absolutely zero leadership” when a reform bill that was introduced late in this year’s legislative session failed to gain steam. The bill would have made it more difficult for condo owners to sue builders over construction defects. Hickenlooper agreed that changes to the law need to be made, but said rising rental costs are attributed to other economic factors. “It’s certainly not the defining factor in the incredible inflation we’ve seen in housing costs,” he said. “That’s been going on for a number of years.” Also during the debate, Beauprez made news for saying he would like to see a repeal of laws that allow for the legal sale of marijuana. The former congressman cited health concerns while laying out his position. “Yes, I think we’re at that point where the consequences we’ve already discovered from this might be far greater than the liberty the citizens thought they were embracing,” Beauprez said. Hickenlooper made news of his own at a debate earlier in the week, where he said voters were “reckless” for supporting last year’s Amendment 64, which legalized recreational pot sales and use in Colorado. In spite of his concerns over the impact that marijuana use can have on a developing brain, Hickenlooper wouldn’t go as far as saying that the constitutional amendment needs to be repealed. Debate continues on Page 5
Rebecca Brinkman and Margaret Burd of Thornton filed the first lawsuit in the state challenging the ban on same-gender marriage. They filed the suit nearly a year ago, right after the Adams County Clerk and Recorder office denied their application for a marriage license. The lawsuit said the ban on gay marriages violated the federal Civil Rights Act of 1871. “The ban on same gender marriages violates the equal protection clause and the due process clause of the 14th Amendment,” said Ralph Ogden, the attorney who represented Brinkman and Burd. Although state lawmakers passed a law last year to allow civil unions, Ogden argued it was not the same as marriage. For starters, he said, the federal government doesn’t recognize civil unions so those partners don’t have the same benefits as married couples. Also, he added, “A civil union does not equal the dignity in a marriage.” Brinkman and Burd said they were not interested in pursuing a ballot question in 2016 to change the state constitution about gay marriage. “Civil rights should not be up for popular vote,” Brinkman said. Instead, they hired Ogden to argue their case. Their lawsuit was consolidated with a similar lawsuit filed by eight other couples in Denver and was heard by Adams County District Court Judge Scott Crabtree. In July, Crabtree ruled in favor of the couples, declaring Colorado’s ban on gay marriage to be unconstitutional. However, he stayed his ruling until the higher courts could weigh in on the issue. The highest court of the land essentially did just that on Oct. 6. The U.S. Supreme Court decided to not review cases regarding gay marriages, which upheld lower courts decisions allowing gay couples to marry in Utah, Oklahoma, Virginia, Indiana and Wisconsin. The court’s decision prompted Colorado Attorney General John Suthers to remove any obstacles that prevented gay marriage in the state, including lifting the stay on Crabtree’s ruling. “That means Judge Crabtree’s ruling became law in Colorado,” Ogden said. In a statement last week, Suthers said the state’s 64 county clerks were legally required to issue licenses to same-sex couples. “There are no remaining legal requirements that prevent same-sex couples from legally marrying in Colorado,” he said. The legal domino effect last week means that gay marriage is allowed in 30 states. “We’re very happy Attorney General John Suthers is clearing the way for marriage equality in the state and we’re happy for the couples who can marry,” said Rex Fuller, director of communications with the GLBT Community Center of Colorado. While this was a good step, he added that it would be nice if all couples across the nation could have this right. Brinkman shares Fuller’s sentiment. “In my heart of hearts, I wish the Supreme Court would have ruled,” she said. “It leaves out people in the Midwest and South.” However, Ogden feels the highest court has made it clear what would happen if a case does reach them and they had to rule. “My belief is a 5-4 vote in favor of striking the (marriage) bans,” he said. “I think the Supreme Court has spoken.” Ogden said he’s tried 20 to 30 civil rights cases in his career, but this case means the most to him. “This is the victory I’m most proud of,” he said. “I have a lot of gay friends. I have a gay son. It means tens of thousands of people in Colorado and a rapidly increasing number of states can have the same dignified relationship as my wife and I have. And it undoes a great injustice.”