Conservative group refocuses strategy

0 Comments | Gazette, The (Colorado Springs), Oct 2, 2000 | by Eric Gorski

Witmer, though, emphasized Colorado for Family Values' recent legislative efforts. The group supported a bill signed into law by Gov. Bill Owens in May that made Colorado the 33rd state to ban same- sex marriages.

A failed attempt to pass hate-crimes legislation last session was opposed by Colorado for Family Values.

The group will continue working on such public policy issues, Witmer said.

Tom Pedigo, state director of the American Family Association, a conservative group that takes stands on issues such as gay rights and abortion, said Colorado for Family Values has taken a "quieter, more stealth" approach that's less confrontational - a reflection, he said, of Witmer's demeanor. He said the group is still a factor.

"They still have the same support base," he said.

Opponents of Colorado for Family Values see things differently.

Megan Day, director of Citizens Project, views Colorado for Family Values' recent defeats as a sign not only of an ineffective organization but of a community whose priorities have shifted. She said Colorado Springs does not want to revisit the negativity of Amendment 2.

"As long as (Colorado for Family Values) is in existence, they'll have a core group of supporters," Day said. "But in order to have any influence, they need a broader support base. And that just doesn't exist anymore."

Christy Pitts, director of the Pikes Peak Gay and Lesbian Community Center, also sees a changing Colorado Springs. She noted the city police department recently set up a recruiting booth at the annual gay pride festival, something she said wouldn't have happened when Colorado for Family Values was stronger and more vocal.

Former Colorado for Family Values chairman Will Perkins, though not involved in the group's leadership, said the budget cuts shouldn't be viewed as a weakness but as a strength because less money will be going to overhead. And he doesn't think the organization is in decline.

"There'll be a future (for Colorado for Family Values) as long as this issue is being forced upon her culture - of giving preferential treatment to homosexuals," Perkins said. "That will be the determining factor."

- Edited by Jim Borden. Headline by Andy Obermueller

Time line

1991 - Colorado for Family Values forms to oppose a proposed city human rights ordinance that would have included protection against discrimination for gays and lesbians. The language covering gays is removed, but the ordinance dies anyway.

November 1992 - Colorado voters approve Amendment 2, giving CFV a huge victory and national attention. The group penned the measure, which barred laws that would protect gays from discrimination based on sexual orientation. The state is the target of an economic boycott by trade groups and others after the vote.

October 1994 - The Colorado Supreme Court strikes down Amendment 2 as unconstitutional.

June 1995 - CFV proposes a resolution seeking to define "community standards" in Colorado Springs. The resolution includes statements rejecting homosexuality as a moral or legal equivalent to heterosexuality. The group doesn't get enough signatures to put the resolution on the ballot.