LGTBQ Justice

What does it mean?

Building the power of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer communities to lead efforts in creating a world where gender identity and sexual orientation are no longer policed, pathologized, criminalized or repressed with violence or discrimination.

EXAMPLES OF CHANGE:

• 1992 – 1996 – After the passage of Amendment 2, which denied LGBTQ people in Colorado equal protection under the law, Chinook provides start-up funds to LGBTQ & ally organizing across the state, such as Equality Colorado, Ground Zero, Citizens Project, Lambda Community Center, Pueblo After 2, Western Equality, and many others. These groups defend attacks, build  community power, and transform the hearts and minds of the broader public.  In 1996, the Supreme Court rules the amendment unconstitutional.
• 2005 – Western Equality and Colorado Anti-Violence Program  put pressure on local law enforcement after discovering that they ignored a long history of complaints about harassment towards a gay man who is murdered in Montrose. The two organizations WIN a demand to provide a series of mandatory trainings around the impact of violence on LGBTQ communities for the Mesa County Sherriff’s Department.
• 2012 – Our Sister’s Keeper, continues their Two-Spirit Awareness Campaign, to build visibility, protect the safety, and restore traditional cultural value to Two-Spirit and LGBTQ Native Americans in the Four Corners region, including Southern Ute and Ute Mountain Ute tribal communities.
• 2013 – Colorado Anti-Violence Program reaches over 1500 in LGBTQ communities to dismantle and re-create media and also send representatives to participate in the Queer Youth Summit.