Anti-Discrimination Colorado Civil Rights Initiative Now Amendment 46

The good news (via Michelle Malkin):

Today the Colorado Civil Rights Initiative received notice that the Secretary of State has determined that the Colorado Civil Rights Initiative has submitted enough signatures to gain access to the November ballot.

"I am delighted that the people of Colorado will have a chance to vote Yes for fairness and equality in November," said Valery Pech Orr, co-proponent of the initiative. Linda Chavez, also a proponent of the Initiative continued, "The people of Colorado will finally have the opportunity to say no to discrimination, ending the decades-long double standard that has been fostered by race- and gender-based preferences."

Ward Connerly, national advocate for equal rights, congratulated the Colorado Coalition on their success, "The people in Colorado who have the desire to end race and gender preferences are to be commended for their success." Connerly continued, "I am delighted that the Super-Tuesday for Equal Rights effort has achieved another milestone towards success in November."

The Colorado Civil Rights Initiative is a state constitutional amendment that will appear as Amendment 46 on the November 2008 ballot. A "Yes" vote on this initiative will ban discrimination and preferences based on race, gender, national origin, color, and ethnicity in state hiring, state contracting, and state education.

Ben DeGrow has a roundup, and includes his endorsement.

More to come as the election season progresses--the key will be to see how the opposition decides to challenge this Amendment in Colorado--attack the messenger (Connerly), or the message. There will be no shortage of vilification and the threat of "opening old wounds," or the cries of "institutional racism" and accusations of "right-wing bigotry."

Also, what effect will teh Democrats' eventual nominee have on this issue, playing as Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama both have on gender and race. The way that Colorado's unaffiliateds break will certainly be crucial, but also important will be the turnout of the base of both parties, for this and any of the other ballot initiatives.

Exit question: will it be the agenda that has coattails, or the parties' respective candidates? Or will the votes be independently decided, not along party lines, but through principles--from a generally "independent" Colorado voting population?

Hard to tell, but an interesting thought experiment, nonetheless!