On the Scene: Colorado in the Gay Nineties

Denver ONE OF the strangest buildings in Denver, architecturally, is the State Justice Building. Its five stories, housing the appellate courts, sit thirty feet off the ground on two enormous pillars, as if to say to the people who walk underneath: “The law is separate from you; the law is above you.” When, on July 19, the State Supreme Court handed down its decision on Amendment 2, Colorado’s anti-gay-rights statute, the gap between the people and the law seemed larger than ever.

The battle began last November when Colorado voters had the nerve to pass an initiative prohibiting special anti-discrimination laws for homosexuals. Within a week of the election the state had become the focus of national fury. Starting with Barbra Streisand, celebrities called for a boycott of the state, and various groups and individuals promised a court battle to overturn the measure.

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Christopher Hill

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Denver ONE OF the strangest buildings in Denver, architecturally, is the State Justice Building. Its five stories, housing the appellate courts, sit thirty feet off the ground on two enormous pillars, as if to say to the people who walk underneath: “The law is separate from you; the law is above you.” When, on July 19, the State Supreme Court handed down its decision on Amendment 2, Colorado’s anti-gay-rights statute, the gap between the people and the law seemed larger than ever.

The battle began last November when Colorado voters had the nerve to pass an initiative prohibiting special anti-discrimination laws for homosexuals. Within a week of the election the state had become the focus of national fury. Starting with Barbra Streisand, celebrities called for a boycott of the state, and various groups and individuals promised a court battle to overturn the measure.