Bill Expanding Ban on Discrimination Against Gays Introduced

A bill that would expand the state's ban on discrimination on the basis of sexual preference has been introduced in the Senate.

SB 200, by Sen. Jennifer Veiga, D-Denver, would mandate equal treatment in housing, public accommodations, credit decisions and many other areas, including:

* Membership in labor organizations;
* Inclusion in public works projects;
* Issuance of a license to practice law;
* Sales of cemetery plots
* Determination of whether expenses paid at or to a club that
has a policy to restrict membership are tax deductible;
* The provision of funeral services;
* Enrollment or classification of students at private
occupational schools;
* Eligibility for jury service;
* Enrollment in a charter school, institute charter school,
public school, or pilot school for expelled students;
* Written local school boards of education policies regarding
employment, promotion, and dismissal;
* The assignment or transfer of a public school teacher;
* Leasing portions of the grounds of or improvements on the
grounds of the Colorado state university - Pueblo and the
Colorado school of mines;
* Employment in state personnel system;
* The provision of adequate hospital facilities;
* Availability of family planning services;
* Employment practices of county departments of social
services involving selection, retention, and promotion of
employees;
* Participation in the managed care program under the
children’s basic health plan;
* Making or committing to make a housing facility loan by
the Colorado housing and finance authority; and
* Imposition of a discriminatory occupancy requirement on
charitable property for which the owner is claiming an
exemption from property taxes based on the charitable use
of the property.

The bill would apply to gays, lesbians, bisexuals and trans-gendered individuals. It also extends the provisions summarized above to other categories, including sex,
marital status, disability, age, national origin, ancestry, and religion.

Last year the General Assembly approved, and Gov. Bill Ritter signed, a bill that prohibits discrimination against people in those categories in employment decisions.