Colorado for Family Values, Child

These anti-gay ads are part of a battle that attacked the civil rights of Colorado gays.

A voiceover announces, "Gays have special rights. School kids are taught THIS lifestyle (male kissing is shown) is healthy and normal -- by law. Do we want to protect our children? Yes we do! Vote yes on 2." The closing picture shows a crying child walking with an adult in a Pride Parade.

Aired in 1992, these commercials were for many the first they learned about gays on TV. It utilized video footage from the infamous "Gay Agenda" movie created by the religious right. The tape "censors" sections of scantily-clad men on gay pride parade floats and interviews several "experts" who produce demonizing misinformation about the gay community.

Despite existing municipal protection laws in Denver, Aspen and Boulder, the increasingly strong religious right-inspired a vote known as Amendment 2. That amendment to the Colorado State Constitution passed, surprising many, and was to prevent cities, towns, and counties from passing laws protecting gay and lesbian rights.

The amendment never went into effect, as it was immediately challenged in court by the case Romer vs. Evans. The case went all the way to the US Supreme Court and, in May 1996, the court knocked down Amendment 2 in a landmark 6-to-3 decision.