This collection contains invaluable items that document the LGBTQ+ community during one of the most historically important moments in Colorado history. Amendment 2 was a landmark initiative that took away protections for people based on their sexual orientation. Colorado voters approved Amendment 2 in 1992 by a slim margin of 53%. Amendment 2 was the response by the conservative organization Colorado for Family Values after many cities in Colorado enacted anti-discrimination laws to protect the LGBT community. Amendment 2 amended the state constitution to rescind and prevent any town, city, or county from according protected status based on sexual orientation. In response to the passage of the amendment, many organizations formed to fight to have the amendment overturned. Among these organizations, such as The Gay and Lesbian Fund and the Gill Foundation, were EPOColorado (Equal Protection Campaign) and CLIP (Colorado Legal Initiatives Project).
This record contains one "1993 March on Washington for Lesbian, Gay, & Bi Equal Rights and Liberation Alaskans to D.C. in 93!" button. The words 1993 March on Washington for Lesbian, Gay, & Bi ring the upper edge of the button with the other text on two lines on the lower half of the button. All text is black on a white background. In the center of the button is a pink triangle with a silhouette of Alaska state in front of it.
Thanks to the generosity of the Gill Foundation, in October 2019 History Colorado hired the Gill Foundation Associate Curator of LGBTQ+ History to manage and expand History Colorado’s LGBTQ+ holdings and to develop the Gill Foundation LGBTQ Archive in recognition of the significant contributions of Tim Gill to the state of Colorado. All LGBTQ+ acquisitions from 2019 through 2021 reflect the support of the Gill Foundation.
Dedicated to documenting the varied experiences of all Coloradans, History Colorado and the Gill Foundation initiated the LGBTQ Collecting Initiative to proactively build a research archive that preserves and promotes the contributions, history, and voices of Colorado’s LGBTQ+ community.