Colorado ‘religious freedom’ initiative moves step closer to 2012 ballot

The Colorado Secretary of State’s title board on Wednesday approved language for a “religious freedom” ballot initiative submitted last month by Colorado Springs-based evangelical organization Focus on the Family. Supporters of the initiative can now begin collecting the roughly 86,000 valid voter signatures it will take to land the proposal on election ballots this November.

The controversial initiative taps into the increasingly heated tug of war over social issues waging between Christian organizations and representatives of the government, most recently, for example, on the question of whether employers should be required to provide insurance coverage for contraception.

As submitted, the title of the initiative contains one sentence. It proposes to add “an amendment to the Colorado Constitution expressing the public policy of the state of Colorado that government may not burden a person’s or religious organization’s freedom of religion (pdf).”

http://coloradoindependent.com/117520/colorado-%E2%80%98religious-freedom%E2%80%99-initiative-moves-one-step-closer-to-2012-ballot