Colorado faces gay split decision

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DENVER -- Colorado voters can decide next Tuesday whether to support a constitutional amendment affirming traditional marriage or an initiative allowing same-sex couples to register as domestic partners.

Or both.

The measures, which at first glance appear to cancel each other out, are actually legally compatible, said lawyers and political analysts.

Amendment 43, the marriage amendment, says that marriage is only between one man and one woman, with no mention of same-sex relationships. Referendum I would establish legal domestic partnerships for same-sex couples, but states that such an arrangement "is not a marriage, which consists of the union of one man and one woman."

In other words, both could become law without the added drama of a protracted court battle, a likely scenario given that both are now leading narrowly in the polls.

"They're not contradictory at all," said Denver political analyst Eric Sondermann. "It makes perfect legal sense -- voters are not yet ready to cross the threshold that would make marriage an institution for anyone other than one man and one woman.

"But at the same time, they recognize that gay couples should have basic legal rights and protections," he said.

Indeed, the Rocky Mountain News endorsed both measures in its Oct. 6 editorial, saying homosexual couples "do face unnecessary obstacles and disadvantages" in areas such as inheritance, workers' compensation and medical decisions.

"Referendum I would level the playing field on all of those matters," said the editorial. "But we also think Coloradans should protect the right to decide whether gay couples should be issued marriage certificates that are in every detail the same as those heterosexual couples receive. That's all Amendment 43 does."

Still, their supporters are hardly working hand in hand. Focus on the Family's political arm, which backs Amendment 43, is also the primary mover behind the anti-Referendum I effort.