COLORADO: Christian Hate Group Launches Ballot Drive To Legalize Discrimination Against Gays

Focus On The Family has launched a ballot petition drive that, if successful, will ask Colorado voters to make it legal to deny housing, employment, and services to any person on the basis of religious objections. (Gosh, who COULD they be talking about?) Focus has engaged the legal assistance of the Alliance Defense Fund.

The Denver Post reports:

Focus on the Family will build a coalition to back a constitutional amendment prohibiting state government from interfering with the religious freedom of a person or religious organization. The draft language states that government may not directly or indirectly burden a person or organization by withholding benefits, assessing penalties or excluding a person or group from government programs or facilities. The Alliance Defense Fund, a nonprofit Christian advocacy group dedicated to religious liberty, sent the proposed initiative to the Colorado Legislative Council on March 7.

LGBT rights group One Colorado responds:

The initiative’s language — which focuses on “religious liberty” — is incredibly deceptive. It doesn’t make clear the widespread implications of enacting this law. Implications that don’t just impact LGBT people — but all Coloradans. Imagine a law that allows a pharmacist to refuse to fill a birth control prescription. A law that permits an employer to refuse to hire people on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity and expression. A law that gives protection to teachers who refuse to teach sex education or evolution. All for the sake of so-called religious freedom.

One Colorado says they are in dire need of financial assistance to file a legal challenge to the Focus petition request. The deadline to object to the petition is this coming Monday. They only need $5000! I'm kicking in $25 to get us started.