The Challenge to Amendment 2

In 1992 members of Colorado's GLBT communities founded CLIP as a separate organization, known as the "Colorado Legal Initiatives Project." Our original mission was to organize a legal challenge to the anti-gay constitutional amendment, Amendment 2. This measure would have precluded all legislative, executive, or judicial action at any level of state or local government in Colorado designed to protect LGBT people. When Colorado voters passed Amendment 2 by a slim majority in November 1992, a statewide coalition led by CLIP promptly filed a lawsuit in state district court and obtained an injunction to prevent the measure from taking legal effect. A national coalition of civil rights groups joined CLIP in the lawsuit as it was appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. The case later became known as Romer v. Evans, 517 U. S. 620 (1996). In this historic decision issued in May 1996, the U.S. Supreme Court held that Amendment 2 was unconstitutional under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

CLIP After Amendment 2

Despite the victory in Romer v. Evans, GLBT people and those with HIV have continued to experience discrimination, harassment, and unequal treatment. After 1996, CLIP thus expanded its efforts from the Amendment 2 lawsuit to serve as a general civil rights project for fair treatment on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, and HIV status in Colorado. In June 2000, CLIP merged with The Center and became its legal services program. CLIP is now known as “The Center’s Legal Initiatives Project.” The merger with The Center has ensured the continuity and stability of our efforts for equality, justice, and democracy.

For more information about the history of CLIP and Amendment 2, see A Brief History of CLIP (Microsoft Word format).