A push to legalize gay marriage in
Colorado took a big step on Wednesday when a proposed ballot measure
cleared the state title board, the AP reported.
The 3-member board charged with
approving proposed ballot questions voted unanimously in favor of the
measure. Proponents now must collect roughly 86,000 signatures to
secure a spot on the 2012 ballot.
If approved, the measure would strike
the state's 2006 voter-approved constitutional amendment banning gay
marriage and replace it with new language that defines marriage as
the union of two people.
Nineteen-year-old political science
student Mark Olmstead is one of the sponsors of the proposed change.
“I feel like it's time to start
fighting for it here,” said Olmstead, who is gay but does not have
any immediate plans to marry. “I think Colorado has changed from
then to now. I'm not entirely sure it's changed enough, but it's
about time to start talking about it.”
A civil unions bill died in a House
committee earlier this year after passage in the Senate.
Opponent of marriage equality said they
believe voters will retain the law.
“We have every confidence that the
people of Colorado would affirm that vote again if an attempt to
repeal marriage comes to the ballot,” said Carrie Gordon Earll of
Focus on the Family.