Same-sex marriage is on the Colorado ballot. Here’s how Coloradans are responding

DENVER — Colorado voters are being asked if they want to repeal the state’s constitutional definition of marriage as “a union of one man and one woman.”

If passed, Amendment J, a ballot measure brought forward by state lawmakers during the most recent legislative session, would remove the language and thus strengthen laws that protect the rights of LGBTQ+ Coloradans amid potential challenges post-election.

For Jax Gonzalez, the political director at One Colorado, a statewide LGBTQ+ advocacy nonprofit, passing an amendment to remove Colorado’s constitutional ban against same-sex marriage isn’t just about love, it’s about safety.

“Marriage equality is about equal rights and dignity and equal access to care for each other the same way everybody else does,” Gonzalez said at a campaign event supporting Amendment J on Oct. 30.

“It’s about the practical benefits of marriage, like taxes and medical rights.”

Gonzalez has spent months knocking on doors around Colorado encouraging people to vote yes on Amendment J. They want same-sex couples to have the same rights to marriage as heterosexual couples. Colorado is known as one of the safest states in the country for LGBTQ+ people, and Gonzalez believes the current constitutional language is outdated.

If Obergefell V Hodges — the 2015 landmark case legalizing gay marriage in all 50 states — were overturned, Colorado could be forced to return to its constitutional language. This is known as a trigger law.

Gonzalez trained other LGBTQ+ volunteers on convincing their neighbors to vote for the change by sharing personal stories of what the right to marry means to them.

When Gonzalez suffered a life-threatening blood clot in 2023, their partner was not permitted to enter the hospital room where they were being treated because the two were not married. 

The couple is still not married but hopes to be someday, largely so they can support each other through life-changing legal and medical decisions. Gonzalez and their partner are still allowed to marry under federal law, and amending Colorado’s constitution would be an added layer of protection.

Gonzalez doesn’t have a relationship with their biological family, so if a medical professional were to try to contact their next of kin, Gonzalez worries their family may not have their best interest at heart, while their partner would.

“It’s not just about love,” Gonzalez said. “It’s about getting access to your partner while they’re in a medical emergency.”

Gonzalez and other canvassers have moved away from the “love is love,” tagline that defined the early 2000s gay rights movement, arguing it’s short-sighted in today’s political climate.

“We were trying to humanize lesbian, gay and bisexual people back then, however, unfortunately, ‘love is love’ didn’t bring long-term, needed change for the LGBTQ community,” Gonzalez said. 

“We’re in a different political landscape today where marriage equality is about rights and freedoms just as much as its above love,” they said.

Ian Wahlen, a volunteer supporting Amendment J who moved to Colorado from Mississippi in 2017 because of Colorado’s LGBTQ+ protections, said the issue is “about changing hearts and minds.”

“I’m really invested in holding the line here and saying ‘we’re not messing around with peoples’ rights in Colorado,” Wahlen said. “We, as a community, have made too much progress for our right to marry to be rolled back.”

Unlike other ballot initiatives proposing banning fur sales and slaughterhouses in Denver, Amendment J has no paid opposition. But several religious groups have made statements opposing the measure.

“In every culture around the world, throughout all history, marriage has been the union of husband and wife,” said Jeff Johnston, an issues analyst for Focus on the Family, a Colorado Springs-based Christian group. 

Johnston said to Rocky Mountain PBS in an email that he “formerly struggled with same-sex attraction and pornography addiction,” before “god’s spirit brought healing and transformation, and my struggles with lust for men and addiction lessened over time.”

Johnston’s work for Focus on the Family centers around “marriage, homosexuality and gender, as well as encouraging and equipping Christians to engage the culture on these issues.”

Focus on the Family is outspoken against gay marriage, and Johnston said its policy stances stem from two places: the Bible and social science studies that claim children do best with a mother and father.

“This foundational male-female institution has been consistent and universal until the last two nanoseconds of human history,” Johnston said.

The Human Rights Campaign, a national LGBTQ+ advocacy group, listed Focus on the Family as “one of the most well-funded anti-LGBT organizations in the country.”

Johnston said his personal qualms with same-sex marriage have helped inform his political advocacy against the issue.

“Homosexual relationships are one of many sexual sins, like adultery, pornography use and lust,” Johnston said. “Jesus lived, died and rose from the dead to give all of us two things: His unconditional love, grace and forgiveness, and also, the power to change, to become more like Him. I want people who struggle with any sin to find that love and transformative power.”

The Colorado Catholic Conference told Colorado Public Radio they do not support the amendment because “children have a natural right to a mother and father.” The Colorado Catholic Conference did not respond to Rocky Mountain PBS’s requests for comment.

Wahlen said same-sex marriage is an issue that largely only affects those interested in marrying a same-sex partner.

“It’s really simple,” Wahlen said. “If you don’t like gay marriage, don’t get gay married. But why take that away from me?”

A May 2022 Gallup Poll found 71% of Americans support gay marriage. CBS News reported ahead of the 2024 election that 38% of Americans said LGBTQ+ rights are a factor in choosing a presidential candidate. 

In Colorado, Gonzalez said One Colorado’s internal polling has shown as much as 76% of Coloradans support Amendment J.

If Amendment J passes, the Colorado Legislature could amend the state’s constitution in the 2024 legislative session to codify the right for gay people to marry. 

The future of same-sex marriage and LGBTQ+ rights could be in legal limbo if the Supreme Court receives a challenge to Obergefell, Lawrence or the Respect for Marriage Act.

The United States Congress passed the Respect for Marriage Act in 2023, which requires all states to honor same-sex marriages, even if such ordinances are outlawed in their state. The United States Supreme Court has not heard arguments over the law, but the American Civil Liberties Union said the court could overturn it if it heard a challenge.

In that scenario, the right to same-sex marriage would return to the states, where in Colorado the constitution defines marriage as between a man and a woman.

When the United States Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, returning abortion rights to the states, Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito explicitly mentioned a possibility of “revisiting” Obergefell V Hodges, which protected the right to marriage on the principle of privacy, and Lawrence v. Texas, which invalidated sodomy laws.

Project 2025, a roadmap written by 140 former President Donald Trump staffers outlining possibilities for his second-term presidency, defines marriage as “a unit between one man and one woman.”

Legal experts who’ve published opinions on the future of marriage equality have written that, should he win the presidency, it’s unlikely Trump would pass a national ban on same-sex marriage. The more likely scenario, experts have said, is that the question would be returned to states.

If Amendment J does not pass, Gonzalez said the 5,000 same-sex couples who’ve been married in Colorado since the 2015 Obergefell decision would have “legal ambiguity.”

“If we don’t remove this constitutional ban on gay marriage, then we have a state with immense amount of protections for LGBTQ+ people and also an incredibly discriminatory law in our constitution,” they said.

Johnston said legalizing gay marriage harms children gay couples may raise, as well as people of faith.

“Redefining marriage robs children of what they so desperately need,” Johnston said. “When the Supreme Court made marriage something it has never been, it put the entire force of the courts, government and law behind the newly created institution of same-sex marriage. This has undermined religious freedom, free speech and parents’ rights to raise their children according to their beliefs and values.”