COLORADO
Durango Herald
By Peter Marcus
Herald Denver Bureau
ENVER – Survivors of alleged sexual abuse by priests have come forward to criticize Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob Beauprez for fighting legislation that would have made it easier for them to file civil lawsuits against churches.
The state measures, from 2006 and 2008, would have allowed a window for alleged victims to sue for older cases.
A devout Catholic, Beauprez said at the time that the bills served as an “attack on the church.”
He is competing against incumbent Democrat John Hickenlooper in a tight race.
“We need to support candidates who are going to do all we can to protect kids, and this Beauprez thing just angers me,” said Jeb Barrett, the 75-year-old leader of Denver’s Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests (SNAP).
“I’m a survivor of childhood sexual assault, and I didn’t have the courage to talk about it until I was 62, 63 years old. It’s a very, very shaming thing to ever be raped,” he said.
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