Roles reversed in Colorado contest

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The Colorado Senate race saw an unusual reversal of politics yesterday as the Republican candidate defended his financial support of a homosexual event featuring leather and fetish parties and the Democrat kept a careful distance from presidential nominee Sen. John Kerry.

Republican Pete Coors, chairman of the Coors Brewing Co., and Democrat Attorney General Ken Salazar disagreed on every subject except campaign advertising. Each has urged the other to run a positive campaign, but the advertising campaign has turned negative.

Mr. Coors defended his company's decision to be a sponsor of the Black and Blue 2004 festival in Montreal, a weeklong affair that began yesterday and is expected to draw 80,000 attendants to the Leather Ball, the Raunch Fetish night and a male nude revue.

"Companies ought to be able to make decisions on how they deal with these issues," Mr. Coors said.

The beer baron said he opposes same-sex "marriage" and adoption by homosexual couples, and asked whether those positions are inconsistent with his company's actions during a debate aired on NBC's "Meet the Press," Mr. Coors said "no."

"One of the values in our company is that we respect all of our employees and their hard work. We respect their passion, their integrity. One of our qualities -- our values include equality," Mr. Coors said.

"It is about recognizing that everyone in this country should be valued for what they are, and I believe that's the way we recognize it at our company," Mr. Coors said.

Mr. Salazar, who opposed adoption by homosexual couples when he ran for attorney general in 2002, said he since has changed his mind and thinks that "gay couples should be able to adopt a child if it is in the best interest of the child."

The candidates appeared diametrically opposed to their parties' platforms on the Iraqi war, the death penalty and legal drinking age.

One television ad attacks Mr. Coors for opposing the death penalty for Osama bin Laden, a stance he reiterated yesterday. Another ad criticizes Mr. Salazar for not supporting the Patriot Act.