Senators give initial OK to Darfur-related measure
April M. Washington, Rocky Mountain News
Published March 24, 2007 at midnight
Sen. Nancy Spence's eyes welled with tears when she recounted how the U.S. stood by while her adopted granddaughter's parents were among a half-million Rwandans slaughtered in that country's civil war in 1994.
"She was 3 years old at the time," Spence said. "I have firsthand accounts from her relatives who survived and talked about visiting mass graves. They identified the bodies of her mother, who was pregnant."
The Centennial Republican urged the Colorado Senate on Friday not to stand idly by and do nothing while similar genocide occurs in Sudan.
She stood with a majority of the Senate and backed a bill that requires the state's pension fund to divest in companies financially involved with Sudan. House Bill 1184 is sponsored by Denver Democrats Sen. Peter Groff and House Speaker Andrew Romanoff.
The Senate is expected to cast a final vote on the measure Monday.
Republican Sens. Greg Brophy, R-Wray, and Shawn Mitchell, R-Broomfield, criticized the measure, saying that Colorado should not be expected to take a "social litmus test" when investing pension funds.
Congress estimates that from 300,000 to 400,000 people have been killed in the Darfur region and another 2 million people have been displaced from their homes by the Sudan government and its allies since the Darfur crisis began in 2003.
washingtonam@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5086
Featured
-
DPS improvements
This interactive shows you how schools will benefit under the bond proposal.
-
2008 Voter’s Guide
Use our Ballot Builder tool to compare your viewpoints to the candidates.
-
Broncos Game Action
Slide shows of the Broncos-Jags quarter-by-quarter photos from Invesco.
-
Bronco Dean's rant
Listen to Bronco Dean's totally biased postgame rant about the Broncos-Jaguars game.
-
A Dozen on Denver
Manuel Ramos' story is featured this week on 'A Dozen on Denver.' Check it out!
-
Peak Picks
Submit your fall foliage photos to our contest and vote on other submissions.
-
Presidential Elections
See how Colorado counties have voted through the years.
-
County election profiles
A look at how residents in each Colorado county may vote.
-
A dream fulfilled
A Rocky Mountain News and MediaStorm production
Post your comment
Registration is required. Click here to create your free user account, or login below.
Comments are the sole responsibility of the person posting them. You agree not to post comments that are off topic, defamatory, obscene, abusive, threatening or an invasion of privacy. Violators may be banned. Click here for our full user agreement.