News Team Boulder

Issue date: 10/16/08 Section: News

In a year when the presidential campaign began with two unlikely candidates, a black man and a white woman, it may seem as though our nation is crossing racial and gender boundaries.

But Amendment 46, a proposed initiative to the Colorado Constitution, would prohibit discrimination or preferential treatment in the areas of public education, employment, and contracting, effectively eliminating Affirmative Action in Colorado. The Amendment has been under fire since it was written -- most recently, a lawsuit was brought against the Colorado Civil Rights Initiative by opponents of the Amendment. The suit alleged the CRI had forged over 60,000 signatures on the initial petition. After investigation, the court ruled in favor of CRI, and the Amendment remains on November's ballot.

Jessica Corry is the executive director of the Colorado Civil Rights Initiative (CRI), and the Amendment's executive director. Corry and CU Boulder Law Professor Melissa Hart, who is against the Amendment, debated the pros and cons of eliminating Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity programs in the state of Colorado at CU's Denver campus on Tuesday, October 14th. Find out more about the debate:

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