Three gay-union measures vie for a place on the ballot

Campaigners dash to collect signatures by Aug. 7 deadline

Myung Oak Kim, Rocky Mountain News

Published July 24, 2006 at midnight

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It's crunch time for the three state campaigns working for and against proposed November ballot measures related to gay unions.

With two weeks left to gather 68,000 voter signatures, campaigns are relying on armies of volunteers.

Carolyn Schultz, a 64-year-old Republican from outside Fort Collins, has gathered 120 signatures from friends for state Rep. Kevin Lundberg's measure that seeks to ban domestic partnerships.

Sheri Engstrom, a 35-year-old ex-beauty queen from Evergreen, spent three recent Sundays collecting almost 100 signatures in the lobby of her Baptist church for a measure that would put a heterosexual definition of marriage in the state constitution.

Ginger Playford, a 73-year-old from Lakewood, collected almost 150 signatures at her Lutheran church and local farmers market, and has been stuffing envelopes and calling supporters of a measure that would give gay and lesbian couples legal benefits.

The gay-marriage issue has galvanized the state's most conservative and liberal forces and has reached the pews of hundreds of Colorado churches and religious groups.

If the three campaigns submit enough valid signatures by Aug. 7, voters could see a total of four ballot measures related to the gay-marriage debate in November.

One measure - Referendum I, would allow gay partners to be registered by the state and entitle them to certain benefits and rights - is on the ballot because of legislative action. Three other gay-union proposals are in the signature-gathering stage.

Coloradans for Fairness and Equality, which backs Referendum I, has a war chest of nearly $500,000.

It also has more than two dozen full-time employees and hundreds of volunteers, and says it already has 68,000 signatures for its second measure, the Domestic Partnership Amendment, which seeks to cancel out a measure proposed by Lundberg, a Berthoud Republican.

Lundberg said he's not sure his campaign, Protecting Colorado Children, will get enough signatures.

Lundberg launched his initiative in April when it became clear the legislature would send Referendum I to the ballot. Joined by former Colorado Springs car dealer Will Perkins, Lundberg has raised the smallest amount of money by far, about $8,600. He said he has a few thousand petition signatures, but claims to have 1,200 volunteers gathering signatures. Lundberg's proposal would ask voters to approve a constitutional amendment that prohibits the state from creating any legal status similar to marriage for same-sex couples.

"I don't have a guarantee that we're going to get it done, but I'm confident that we're within striking range," Lund-berg said.

The head of Coloradans for Marriage, a coalition of Christian groups that wants to define marriage in the constitution as a union between a man and woman, said he is confident more than 500 volunteers will gather enough signatures. But executive director Jon Paul concedes that he won't know exactly how many signatures he has until the last minute.

Paul said more than 400 churches are supporting the initiative, which has so far raised about $105,000.

Schultz, the Fort Collins Republican, volunteered for Lundberg's group last month. A self-described conservative, the former communications director and mother of three said this is her first ballot-issue campaign. She last worked on the Bush 2004 re-election campaign.

Schultz said she doesn't approve of gay couples getting the same rights as heterosexual spouses.

"I just see the benefits of traditional marriage and I . . . consider it the glue that holds this country together."

Playford, the pro-gay volunteer, said she used to think the same way. Playford grew up in a traditional Christian family and opposed gay rights until she found out that her son was gay. She said it took up to a year to accept it and come to the conclusion that some people are born gay.

Now, Playford tries to campaign for gay rights to make life better for her 43-year-old son.

She said she is sad that Colorado is permeated with a "climate of intolerance."

kimm@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-892-2361

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