DENVER — A lesbian couple from nearby Englewood are seeking to overturn Colorado’s constitutional ban on same-sex marriage, in what is thought to be the first challenge to the 2006 ballot initiative that established it.
The couple, Kate Burns and Sheila Schroeder, appeared Wednesday before Judge James B. Breese of Denver County Court to face a trespassing charge stemming from a brief sit-in they staged on Sept. 24, when, accompanied by their minister, they were refused a marriage license from the Denver Clerk and Recorder Office. Judge Breese set a trial date of April 14.
Earlier this week, Ms. Burns and Ms. Schroeder filed a motion with the court claiming that Amendment 43, which defines marriage as the union of one man and one woman, violated their constitutional right to equal protection. The measure was approved by 55 percent of Colorado voters 15 months ago....
