Out Front Colorado: Since 1976 ... there's no turning back!
Since 1976 ... there's no turning back!
From the ugliness of Amendment 2 to the beauty of the Rocky Mountains, Colorado is a portrait of polarity. But what a magnificent portrait it is. We have it all – mountains and prairie, natural wonders and urban landscapes, wildlife and nightlife, with plenty of space and time for both politics and play.
Outsiders may see the state as a sanctuary for the sanctimonious, a conservative stronghold that strangles the spirit of anyone who steps outside of certain conventional boundaries. But Colorado’s LGBT community knows better.
Certainly, the state’s political history is hardly a testament to queer tolerance, let alone inclusiveness. But those are only the headlines. Our real history tells a different story [1] – and Out Front Colorado, the state’s oldest and largest LGBT publication, has been there every step of the way.
When college student Phil Price put together the first issue of Out Front in his parents' basement, Colorado's LGBT community was ready and waiting for its own major publication. Now, 34 years later, Out Front Colorado remains the premier source for LGBT news, entertainment and events in the Rocky Mountain Region.
Take a journey through the pages of Out Front Colorado and nearly four decades of change, progress and the ongoing march toward equality in Colorado.
Watch the video below to see Out Front Colorado's history as told by Editor in Chief Greg Montoya.
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Since 1976 … there’s no turning back.
Exhibit Pages
-Out Front Colorado: The 1980s – HIV/AIDS
-Out Front Colorado: The 1990s – Hate State
-Out Front Colorado: The 2000s – Marching on
-Out Front Colorado: The Future
Timeline
April 2, 1976: Phil Price publishes the inaugural issue of Out Front, the state's first openly gay publication, as a college student in his parents' basement. He adopts the slogan "There's no turning back!" – which still graces the cover today.
July 24, 1981: The first reference in Out Front to what would be known as AIDS appears as a small news blurb about a "unique pneumonia" that only strikes gay men.
October 16, 1981: The second reference to AIDS appears in Out Front in a small national news blurb discussing the Centers For Disease Control's study on "Homosexual Sarcoma Cases."
November 12, 1982: AIDS hits Colorado as two cases are diagnosed in Denver, in addition to two cases of Kaposi's sarcoma.
July 22, 1983: Out Front mentions AIDS on its cover for the first time, including a national AIDS toll. That number is 1,641.
January 27, 1989: Colorado Gov. Roy Romer issues an executive order banning discrimination against those who are living with HIV.
February 10, 1989: The Colorado AIDS toll has increased to 874 diagnosed cases, with 510 of those individuals deceased.
July 18, 1993: Out Front founder and publisher Phil Price dies of AIDS-related complications.
November 11, 1992: Colorado voters approve Amendment 2, which not only forbids future protections for lesbian and gay Coloradans, but also revokes any existing protections from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.
May 20, 1996: After a long and contentious battle, the Supreme Court of the United States strikes down Amendment 2 as unconstitutional. The Amendment never took effect, as litigation started immediately following the election.
October 7, 1998: Matthew Shepard is brutally murdered in Laramie, Wyoming. Shepard often frequented Denver gay coffeehouse Diedrich's and had friends in Denver.
November 2, 2006: Colorado voters are given the opportunity to become the first state to recognize same-sex relationships with a domestic partnership bill known as Referendum I. On the same ballot, they are asked to approve Amendment 43, which amends the Colorado Constitution to expressly prohibit same-sex marriage. Colorado voters approve Amendment 43, and do not approve Referendum I.
November 2, 2006: Male escort Mike Jones appears on The Peter Boyles Show on KHOW radio, outing conservative, anti-gay Colorado Springs pastor Ted Haggard. Jones says he has had sex with Haggard and that he bought Haggard meth at Haggard's request.
August 25 - 28, 2008: Denver hosts the Democratic National Convention, where Barack Obama accepts the party's nomination for president. He expressly mentions gay men and lesbians in his acceptance speech, delivered at Denver's Invesco Field at Mile High Stadium.
April 22, 2009: Colorado becomes the first state to bring a hate-crimes verdict against a defendant for the murder of a transgender person when Allen Andrade is convicted of murdering Angie Zapata, an 18-year-old transgender woman from Greeley.
July 1, 2009: Colorado residents – including LGBT citizens – gained the right to designate a legal beneficiary to receive certain benefits historically reserved for married couples when the Designated Beneficiary Act takes effect.
January 18, 2010: Out Front Colorado Web Editor Sunnivie Brydum travels to San Francisco to join a select few LGBT media outlets in covering the landmark trial of Perry v. Schwarzenegger, the federal challenge to the constitutionality of California's Proposition 8.
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References
- ↑ Kailey, Matt, ed., Focus on the Fabulous: Colorado GLBT Voices (Johnson Books, 2007), 1.
