February 24, 2009, New York, NY – The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) today urged media to turn a spotlight on anti-gay remarks made by Colorado State Senator Scott Renfroe on February 23, 2009, during a Senate debate over a bill that would allow gay and lesbian state employees to share health benefits with their partners. 

According to The Denver Post, Renfroe stated that "homosexuality is seen as a violation of this natural creative order, and it is an offense to God." He continued ". . . When we create laws that go against what biblically we are supposed to stand for, I think we are allowing to go forward a sin that should not be treated by government as something that is legal. We are taking sins and making them legally OK." The full report on state Sen. Renfroe's anti-gay comments is available online at http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_11770359. 

"It is unacceptable for public officials to promote this kind of intolerance and, in so doing, create a hostile climate for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in their community," said GLAAD President Neil G. Giuliano. "GLAAD is calling on the media to hold elected officials like Sen. Renfroe accountable for using their public offices to advance this kind of hatred and exclusion. Sen. Renfroe's ugly, divisive assertions highlight the need for media to examine how the anti-gay attitudes of elected officials impact their diverse constituencies."