DENVER - Denver's 37th annual PrideFest is set for Saturday and Sunday in Civic Center Park. This year's theme is fighting for the rights of Colorado's gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community.
One key right participants are seeking is civil unions, the ability for same-sex couples to form a domestic partnership - a topic state Rep. Mark Ferrandino, D-Denver, thinks is one of the key civil-rights issues of contemporary times.
"Ten years - 20 years - from now, people are going to look back at this, just like they looked at some of the civil-rights movements in the '50s and '60s, and not understand why this was ever an issue."
Ferrandino will be one of four grand marshals at Sunday's Pride Parade, which begins at 9:30 a.m. He'll be joined by three other "out" state legislators: Sens. Pat Steadman and Lucia Guzman, both D-Denver, and Rep. Sue Schafer, D-Wheat Ridge.
Guzman says she's honored to be a parade grand marshal because it shows how far Colorado has progressed in terms of civil rights for the GLBT community.
"I'm proud to be who I am. I am proud that who I am is an elected senator - that our community is represented by elected senators and representatives, and that we are part of that."
With that pride comes setbacks, however. Ferrandino says he was disappointed by what he called political maneuvering in the state House of Representatives this year which led to the defeat in committee of the bill that would have legalized civil unions in the state.
"We saw that the votes were there to pass civil unions through the House and get it to the governor's desk, because it had already passed the Senate, but then the speaker played tricks and didn't allow democracy to work."
House Speaker Frank McNulty, R-Highlands Ranch, first refused to allow debate of the bill in the regular session and then placed it in a so-called "kill committee" during a special session last month, where the bill died. He called it a "divisive social issue" and said the Legislature should focus on the economy and job creation.
More information is on the PrideFest website,glbtcolorado.org/PrideFest.aspx.
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DENVER - Denver's 37th annual PrideFest is set for Saturday and Sunday in Civic Center Park. This year's theme is fighting for the rights of Colorado's gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community.
One key right participants are seeking is civil unions, the ability for same-sex couples to form a domestic partnership - a topic state Rep. Mark Ferrandino, D-Denver, thinks is one of the key civil-rights issues of contemporary times.
"Ten years - 20 years - from now, people are going to look back at this, just like they looked at some of the civil-rights movements in the '50s and '60s, and not understand why this was ever an issue."
Ferrandino will be one of four grand marshals at Sunday's Pride Parade, which begins at 9:30 a.m. He'll be joined by three other "out" state legislators: Sens. Pat Steadman and Lucia Guzman, both D-Denver, and Rep. Sue Schafer, D-Wheat Ridge.
Guzman says she's honored to be a parade grand marshal because it shows how far Colorado has progressed in terms of civil rights for the GLBT community.
"I'm proud to be who I am. I am proud that who I am is an elected senator - that our community is represented by elected senators and representatives, and that we are part of that."
With that pride comes setbacks, however. Ferrandino says he was disappointed by what he called political maneuvering in the state House of Representatives this year which led to the defeat in committee of the bill that would have legalized civil unions in the state.
"We saw that the votes were there to pass civil unions through the House and get it to the governor's desk, because it had already passed the Senate, but then the speaker played tricks and didn't allow democracy to work."
House Speaker Frank McNulty, R-Highlands Ranch, first refused to allow debate of the bill in the regular session and then placed it in a so-called "kill committee" during a special session last month, where the bill died. He called it a "divisive social issue" and said the Legislature should focus on the economy and job creation.
More information is on the PrideFest website,glbtcolorado.org/PrideFest.aspx.
