Colorado Personhood Coalition Files Suit

DENVER, Sept. 27, 2012 /Christian Newswire/ — The Colorado Personhood Coalition has filed suit in Denver today, after an unjust dismissal by the Secretary of State’s office.

An unsuccessful lawsuit from Planned Parenthood shortened the petitioning time by about 60 days, giving the Colorado Personhood Coalition fewer petitioning days than any other Colorado ballot initiative. In spite of this, the Personhood Coalition collected over 112,000 signatures, about 30,000 more than signatures collected in 2010.

Other initiatives were also granted a 15 day curing period to make up lost or invalidated signatures, which the Colorado Personhood Coalition was denied.

After turning in far more than the number of signatures required for ballot placement, the Secretary of State’s office determined that the amendment could not appear on the ballot, discounting over 6,800 registered voters’ signatures.

“The Secretary of State’s actions unconstitutionally deprived us of our fundamental right under the State and Federal Constitutions to the initiative process which is core political speech,” explained Gualberto Garcia Jones, J.D., legal analyst for Personhood USA. “After being denied the same time frame that every other initiative received, and denied the opportunity to appear on the ballot, we have filed a writ of mandamus to ensure that our rights are recognized and the hard work of our volunteers is not dismissed.”

The Colorado Personhood Coalition’s language is different than any other in the nation, addressing a myriad of issues in detail that have never before been explored, including birth control, IVF, miscarriage, and rape.

The full language is available at personhoodco.com/amendment-text.

“Our nearly 1,500 volunteers worked incredibly hard,” commented Susan Sutherland, Director of the Colorado Personhood Coalition. “Despite the odds, we did the work and got the signatures. We deserve to be on the ballot, and we will not quit until every signature is counted and ultimately, every innocent human life is protected in Colorado.”