The LGBTQ community takes great pride in its mass gatherings. But since the coronavirus pandemic hit Colorado in March, those communal events have been hard to come by. Bars have been almost or entirely shut down; clubs can no longer offer their trademark intimacy and electric energy. Pride festivals — including Denver Pride, the largest […]
One Colorado
Posted inHealth, News, Politics and Government
As HIV infection rates rise in Colorado, pharmacies can now prescribe preventative pills
Colorado this month became one of the first states in the nation to let pharmacists prescribe HIV prevention drugs, part of a public health effort to curb rising infection rates nearly a decade after breakthroughs in medicine that can stop HIV’s spread. Starting this week, pharmacies can begin offering the daily preventative pill or an […]
Posted inNews, Politics and Government
Colorado still allows killers to use gay or transgender “panic” defenses. But the strategy could soon be outlawed.
When Allen Andrade was charged with murdering a transgender woman in 2008, he argued that he killed her in the heat of passion after learning she had male genitalia. Andrade simply snapped, his attorneys said, and shouldn’t be sent to prison for the rest of his life. In fact, Andrade’s attorneys claimed, he was provoked […]
Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns
Nicolais: Colorado conservatives take steps toward LGBTQ equality
As the committee hearing that began early Thursday afternoon dragged on into the early morning hours of Valentine’s Day, six bills aimed at the LGBTQ community died before the sun rose on the day traditionally dedicated to celebrating love. While my initial reaction to these bills represented a subdued dismay over continued Republican efforts to […]
Posted inHealth, News, Politics and Government
Republican anti-LGBTQ bills at the Colorado Capitol test: Where does the party stand?
Daniel Ramos, the executive director of Colorado’s largest advocacy organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people, sees Republicans as allies in the fight for equality, tolerance and progress. But a slate of legislation being championed by a handful of hard-right conservatives in the Colorado House, including one bill that would seek to end […]
Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns
Opinion: The pressing need to defend and expand LGBTQ+ worker protections
When it comes to economic prosperity, Colorado is a consistent leader in the West and across the nation. With a steadily decreasing unemployment rate and stable job growth numbers, it’s easy to understand why Colorado has continued to attract top-tier employers and a skilled workforce made up of people who are proud to call themselves […]
Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns
Nicolais: Denigrating Ellen DeGeneres isn’t just wrong, it’s harmful
Sometimes I wonder if members of the far-left stand in front of mirrors screaming at themselves. Not for practice mind you, but because they feel an unquellable urge to berate anything and anyone. That particular question rose front and center this week after a picture of Ellen DeGeneres and former President George W. Bush laughing […]
Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns
Nicolais: More Republicans are concluding that equality is a political hill worth dying on
About a week ago, former Colorado Attorney General Cynthia Coffman stood before a ballroom full of LGBTQ activists and accepted an Ally Award from One Colorado. Despite the recognition, it occurred to me that very few people in attendance truly understood the enormity of the sacrifice that propelled Coffman to that stage. If asked, most […]
Posted inColoradans, News, Politics and Government
Colorado’s first openly gay governor signs two of state’s most significant LGBTQ measures into law since 2013
In a year of historic firsts for the LGBTQ community in Colorado politics, Gov. Jared Polis on Friday signed into law a pair of bills years in the making that seek to improve the lives of gay and transgender people in the state. They mark the most significant LGBTQ rights legislation passed in Colorado since […]
Posted inBusiness, Politics and Government
Major corporations and political interests gave big money to Jared Polis’ inaugural committee
An organization of top business leaders and an affiliated dark-money organization topped the list of donors to Democratic Gov. Jared Polis’ inauguration. Colorado for All, the nonprofit that hosted the Jan. 8 inauguration and “Blue Sneaker Ball,” raised $1.5 million total and spent $1.3 million, with the remainder donated to charities, according to numbers provided […]