Today's Denver Post has the announcement that a religious organization opposes Californian Ward Connerly's Amendment 46 that would do away with affirmative action programs.
The Colorado Council of Churches announced its opposition Monday to Amendment 46, a ballot measure aimed at ending preferential treatment by the state based on individuals' or groups' race, sex, color or ethnicity.
The council's executive director, the Rev. Jim Ryan, said the measure to end affirmative action in college admissions and programs, and in public contracts and employment, is an attack on equal opportunity for Colorado women and people of color.
If Amendment 46 passes, Ryan said, it would, among other things, eliminate science and math tutoring programs for young women and other efforts to close the gender gap in pay.
"Progress has been made in overcoming the effects of centuries of discrimination against women and people of color, but we are not there yet. As people of faith, we feel called to stand with them," Ryan said in announcing the council's position.
And the other side:
Amendment proponent Jessica Peck Corry said the Colorado Civil Rights Initiative Committee seeks equal treatment for all citizens regardless of race or color.
"It doesn't get much more biblical than that," said Peck Corry, a policy analyst for the Independence Institute in Golden and a contributor to The Post's PoliticsWest.com website. "This initiative will not eliminate a single program that is open and available to anyone who needs it. Our goal is to let every kid who wants to go to college achieve that."
Oh, the irony of that statement. This same proposal passed in Michigan in 2006. The result? The University of Michigan's minority enrollment was at a peak of 13% in 2005. In 2007 it was 10.9%. The same story reports that 2008 will be even lower.
It's also interested Corry would mention only college. The wording of this bill would affect all levels of government. Perhaps she's subtly trying to crow, will someone please think of the children.
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