Politics

Colorado's Gay Marriage Fight Attracts Big Money

DENVER (AP) ― John Crisci and Michael Tartaglia, his partner of 33 years, thought they had done everything right. They had wills and other paperwork drawn up giving each other the right to make medical and financial decisions for each other, and specifying which relatives should inherit their assets when they die.

They packed the papers for long trips Crisci didn't have the documents with him when Tartaglia collapsed at a gym on the morning on his 70th birthday nearly two years ago. An EMT suggested he run home to get the paperwork rather than risk getting into a dispute with hospital officials over medical decisions.

Crisci knew he was too late when a doctor and chaplain were waiting to talk to him at the hospital. To him, the story shows why same-sex couples should be able to register as domestic partners and get many of the same rights as married couples under Colorado law.

"You don't lose that extra 30 or 40 minutes which may be the last time you can hold on to each other," Crisci said.

Voters will see a pair of gay marriage issues on the Nov. 7 ballot. Referendum I would guarantee many rights for same-sex partners, while Amendment 43 would amend the state constitution to ban gay marriage -- a question that's been successful in all 20 states where it's been attempted.

Still, Amendment 43 isn't considered a sure thing in Colorado, the home turf of some key players on both sides of the national debate over gay marriage -- software millionaire Tim Gill and Focus on the Family, the Colorado Springs-based evangelical Christian organization.

Gill has contributed about $3 million in backing Referendum I and fighting Amendment 43. On the opposite side, Focus on the Family and its public policy arm has contributed at least $874,000.

A survey by independent Denver pollster Floyd Ciruli in July found that just 49 percent of respondents in relatively liberal Denver opposed for the gay marriage amendment, an indication that it will probably pass statewide. The same survey found 51 percent supported the domestic partnerships plan, leading Ciruli to it faces an uphill fight across the state.

Jon Paul, executive director of Coloradans for Marriage, a group backing the gay marriage ban, said he thinks most Coloradans support the measure but the key will be getting them to the polls -- or mail in their absentee ballot. The ballot is the second longest in Colorado history so his campaign and Referendum I backers are urging people to vote by mail.

"If we don't get people out to vote it's possible that it could fail," he said.

Colorado Family Action, a group started by Focus on the Family that opposes domestic partnerships and backs the marriage amendment, has volunteers calling voters over the next two weeks and making announcements in their churches.

Gill, meanwhile, is backing a group that is calling Amendment 43 "the ultimate diversion" from other issues like the economy and war in Iraq. Like the pro-Referendum I group, it's sending workers door-to-door across the state, spokeswoman Lisa Moreno said.

"In 2004, it was very clear that the religious right and GOP used this as a tactic to get out the vote in key swing states," she said. "We have two tight congressional races, a tight gubernatorial race and they're flying the gay marriage flag in a state where gay marriage is already banned, what's the point?"

State law already defines marriage as being between one man and one woman, but supporters say that could be overturned by a judge and the better move is a constitutional amendment.

The domestic partnerships proposal would allow same-sex couples benefits such as coverage under a partner's health insurance plans, and the requirement of alimony and child support. Couples wouldn't get any of the same rights as married couples under federal law, such as filing joint tax returns or receiving benefits if a partner dies while serving in the military.

In Colorado, couples could also be turned away by adoption agencies who objected to same-sex relationships.

Crisci said many people put off drawing up wills. Even after Tartaglia, a hospice nurse who worked with dying veterans for two decades, suggested they visit a lawyer to draw up wills and power of attorney forms, Crisci said he waited a few years.

While married couples are already entitled to some basic protections under the law, Crisci said gay men and women who draw up the documents can find themselves in court if estranged family members challenge a will after a partner's death.

"I hope that other people can face it with more grace and dignity than I had to. No couple, straight or gay, should ever have to deal with that," he said.

(© 2006 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)