Written as a guide for Colorado practitioners who represent gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender clients, with workplace discrimination claims, this article presents legal strategies which may be used in support of such claims (not necessarily limited to Colorado). Strategies explored include gender non-conformance, Title VII retaliation, same-sex harassment, local non-discrimination ordinances, and wrongful discharge in violation of public policy. The article was presented by the Colorado Bar Association Labor and Employment Law Section.

An exploration of the history of discrimination against homosexuals, this article also warns of history’s nature of repeating itself. The author begins with discrimination against homosexuals in the Progressive Era (1886-1915), then shifts to the Cold War Era (1946-1961), in which homosexuals faced “unprecedented discrimination in the name of national security.” After laying the historical groundwork, the author demonstrates how all of the old arguments used to justify discrimination against homosexuals (particularly those of familial sanctity) have been revived. The author explains that we are witnessing this re-emergence of discrimination as a backlash in the wake of Lawrence v. Texas, and subsequent legal victories.