ADL Welcomes Opening of Doors to Marriage Equality in Colorado

 

DENVER, CO, July 10, 2014…..The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) welcomes two consecutive rulings by judges in Colorado that help open the doors for the freedom to marry for gay and lesbian couples.

 

On Wednesday, a district court judge ruled that Colorado’s marriage ban is unconstitutional. Adams County District Court Judge C. Scott Crabtree held that Colorado’s ban on marriage for same-sex couples deprives them of due process and equal protection under the law.

 

Today, a district court judge allowed Boulder County Clerk and Recorder Hillary Hall to continue issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Judge Andrew Hartman rejected a request from Colorado Attorney General John Suthers to stop Hall from issuing licenses. Shortly after the ruling, the Denver Clerk and Recorder Debra Johnson began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

 

The ADL’s celebration of these rulings is tempered by the fact that although licenses are being issued, a cloud hangs over the validity of these licenses until a higher court rules on the constitutionality of Colorado’s marriage ban.

 

“We agree with Judge Hartman that Colorado’s marriage ban is hanging on by a thread,” said ADL Mountain States Regional Director Scott L. Levin. “While the events of the past 48 hours bring us a step closer to marriage equality, our work is not done. We will continue to defend the fundamental rights of same-sex couples to marry, establish a family and raise children until all couples in Colorado have access to those rights.”