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Civil Rights

Veterans group sues Colorado Springs contractor for raids on the homeless

A veterans group claims that a Colorado Springs organization has raided homeless camps, trashing VA paperwork, medication, photos, identification and even service medals belonging to homeless veterans. According to the Colorado Springs Gazette, the Colorado Veterans Alliance filed suit in federal court this week, claiming that Keep Colorado Springs Beautiful violated the homeless veterans' civil rights. KCSB focuses on litter clean up, but also works with police officers to identify homeless camps and ask the residents to leave before cleaning up. The organization has received $45,000 in city funds.

Effort helps eligible Colorado inmates vote from jail

Hundreds of thousands of Colorado voters are sending their mail-in ballots back to county clerks this week, and among them are several dozen jail inmates who successfully registered to vote this year. The Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition recently launched a vigorous vote-from-jail campaign. And while some counties have been more receptive than others, in Denver alone the number of voting inmates quadrupled from 20 people in 2004 to 80 this year.

Colorado coaches speak out against Amendment 46

Three Division One basketball coaches in Colorado publicly opposed Amendment 46 on Wednesday, saying that the so-called Colorado Civil Rights Initiative will diminish diversity at their institutions. University of Colorado coach Jeff Bzdelik, Colorado State University coach Tim Miles and University of Northern Colorado coach Tad Boyle decried the measure, which will banish public affirmative action programs across the state.

Abortion rights group batters McCain in Colorado mailboxes

NARAL Pro-Choice America is delivering a mailer this week that draws a sharp contrast between Barack Obama and John McCain's positions on women's reproductive rights to voters identified as pro-abortion rights in Colorado and seven other battleground states.

Elections bureaucracy jeopardizes half of homeless voter registrations

Homeless people who registered to vote in Colorado risk being ejected from voter rolls if they don't pick up a confirmation letter sent by their county clerk. The problem has less to do with partisan politics than with the nature of homelessness and the complexities of life without a permanent address. In any case, advocates estimate only about half of homeless people cast their vote.

Hickenlooper says ‘no’ to Amendment 46

Today at 2 p.m., Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper will speak out against the Colorado Civil Rights Initiative, a ballot measure that will destroy public affirmative action programs statewide.

Forbes: Ward Connerly is an ‘American Hero’

Last week, Forbes published a love letter to Ward Connerly, the anti-affirmative action activist behind Colorado's Amendment 46. The so-called Colorado Civil Rights Initiative seeks to end discrimination and preferential treatment for minorities in public education, contracting and hiring and will effectively dismantle affirmative action programs across the state.

Ad hammers Schaffer over Abramoff ties, sweatshop ‘investigation’

A campaign finance watchdog group unleashed a brutal attack on Republican Senate candidate Bob Schaffer on Tuesday, charging the former congressman with defending sweatshop operators at the behest of lobbyist Jack Abramoff in an ad set to air on Denver television stations. Campaign Money Watch also called on Schaffer to provide evidence for repeated claims he caused a sweatshop to shut down after his junket to the U.S. protectorate in the South Pacific.

Survey shows unmarried women prefer Obama

Single women have long been a tough group for political hopefuls. They tend to turn out for Democrats, but that's assuming they turn out at all. Their married counterparts are more apt to show up at the polls, even though single women have graver economic concerns. But that may be changing, according to a study (pdf) commissioned by Women's Voices. Women Vote Action Fund, a Washington, D.C.-based organization devoted to shoring up the female vote.

McCain quietly supports anti-affirmative action agenda

To figure out where the presidential candidates stand on affirmative action, one need look no further than Colorado's ballot. Amendment 46, dubbed the Colorado Civil Rights Initiative, will destroy preferential treatment for women and minorities in public contracting, hiring and education. That measure, plus an identical one on Nebraska's ballot, is part of a national attempt to dismantle affirmative action state by state. The effort's main backer, a black California businessman named Ward Connerly, has sunk hundreds of thousands of dollars into the Colorado proposal alone. In an interview with the Associated Press, Connerly said that John McCain has tepidly endorsed the measure but "would ideally like to leave [the issue] alone," if elected.
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