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MorningMagazine_2025-04-08 Gabrielle Mendoza
Polis Signs Bill Repealing Same Sex Marriage Ban
Gov. Jared Polis signed a measure into law Monday that officially repeals the state’s same-sex marriage ban.
According to Colorado Politics, Governor Polis said that the “Protecting the Freedom to Marry” bill will “cement the ability of Coloradans to marry who they love,” and that “It’s frankly none of the government’s business to tell people who to marry, and that is currently protected by Supreme Court precedent.” Here, Polis is referring to the landmark 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges case, which led to the nationwide legalization of same-sex marriage.
The bill implements voter-approved Amendment J from the most recent election.
Amendment J overturned a previous Colorado constitutional amendment that voters approved in 2006. Even though the Supreme Court’s 2015 decision rendered that null and void, the 2006 law had remained on Colorado’s books – until now.
CO Immigrant Protections
As the federal government continues to ramp up its mass deportation efforts, Democratic lawmakers in Colorado are working to create new protections for immigrants in the state.
Sen. Julie Gonzales of Denver and a group of other state Democrats introduced Senate Bill 276 on Friday. The proposed bill would limit local cooperation with federal immigration authorities, like ICE.
Senate Bill 276 would build off of other laws passed in the last few years that made it illegal for law enforcement within the state to arrest or detain people on behalf of federal immigration authorities. Those laws also prohibit local and state governments from entering into contracts with them.
Under the new bill, local governments would be blocked from sharing personal data with ICE and other immigration authorities, unless they are presented with a valid warrant first. Also, federal authorities would be prohibited from conducting deportation operations in buildings like hospitals, schools, places of worship and childcare centers.
Representative Gonzales told The Colorado Sun that even if the measure is signed into law, it’s unclear whether or not immigration agents will actually comply. That’s in part because the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2022 that states don’t have the authority to challenge federal law in regard to immigration.
These ramped-up protections go against state Republicans’ efforts to roll back cooperation constraints. They introduced legislation earlier this year that would have allowed local law enforcement to arrest or detain people on behalf of federal immigration authorities. However, their bill was quickly killed by Democrats who hold a strong majority in the legislature.
The Trump administration’s wide-ranging campaign to deport immigrants in this country hit Colorado soon after Inauguration Day. For one, immigrant activist Jeanette Vizguerra was detained by ICE outside her place of work in March. She’s been stuck inside the GEO Detention Center in Aurora ever since.
Senate Bill 276 faces its first legislative hearing in front of the Senate State Veterans and Military Affairs committee. If approved, the bill will move on to the Senate floor for consideration by the full chamber.
Torture Trial
A Gambian man accused of torturing people during a dictatorship in West Africa will stand trial in Denver this week.
45-year-old Michael Correa will become the first non-U.S.-citizen to stand trial in American federal court for torture committed abroad. His 10-day trial starts on Monday in U.S. District Court in Denver. His charges include one count of conspiracy to commit torture, and six counts of inflicting torture on victims. He faces up to 20 years in prison for each of those charges.
Correa is accused of torturing at least six people over several months in 2006, while serving in a special Gambiann armed unit under the then-President Yahya Jammeh. He allegedly beat those people, electrocuted them, dripped them in molten plastic and put acid on their bodies, and more.
Correa’s case is taking place in Denver because he overstayed his U.S. visa back in 2016, and ultimately settled in Denver where prosecutors say he worked as a day laborer. He was arrested without incident in 2019, and charged with the federal torture crimes in 2020.
The case is being closely followed by international human rights organizations, and by people across The Gambia.
Correa has not pleaded guilty and has remained in federal custody.
That’s all according to The Denver Post.
Front Range Air Quality
State regulators say they’ll ask the Environmental Protection Agency to downgrade the air quality along the northern Front Range, to give them more time to develop an air quality improvement plan for metro Denver and the surrounding region.
They say northern Front Range air quality continues to fall below short of desired standards. Downgrading the air quality will give them more time to see whether current emission-reduction strategies are working.
It would be the second voluntary downgrade on 2015 ozone standards in less than a year, according to the Denver Post.
Officials said the decision to ask for an air quality downgrade was difficult to make. But they said that under the circumstances, it is the only reasonable and responsible path forward.
Spring Snow Runoff
Runoff from melting Rocky Mountain snow is running below average this spring.
That’s according to a western water lawyer, who told Denver 7 News that runoff is currently about 67 percent of what it should be this time of year. He said that in spite of good precipitation this winter, with average snowpacks, the runoff is less than what was expected.
Melting snow is critical to supplying the Colorado River Basin, which provides water to Colorado and six other western states. It also provides water to several Mexican states, and thirty Tribal Nations.
Second Colorado Measles Case
A baby in Denver has become Colorado’s second confirmed case of measles.
State health officials confirmed the case yesterday, according to 9News, adding that it is probably not related to a case of measles in Pueblo.
The baby is less than a year old, and therefore too young to have had a vaccination. Babies usually get vaccinated for measles, mumps and rubella between twelve and fifteen months.
9News says the baby was recently taken to an area of Chihuahua, Mexico, where there is an ongoing measles outbreak.
