BishopAccountability.org
	Abuse Bill Nears End of the Road 'A Lot Lost' As Vote Likely on Monday, Fitz-Gerald Says By April M. Washington and Todd Hartman Rocky Mountain News [Colorado] May 6, 2006 http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/government/article/0,2777,DRMN_23906_4678866,00.html Sen. Joan Fitz-Gerald said she didn't sleep a wink Thursday night. For weeks she'd worked on a measure that would let childhood victims of past sex assaults sue their alleged abusers. Her proposal died Thursday afternoon. And so did a small piece of Fitz-Gerald, a piece that grieves for adults who were molested as children and have never healed. "We lost a lot last night," said Fitz-Gerald, D-Coal Creek Canyon. Fitz-Gerald's proposal was an amendment to House Bill 1090. The bill is still alive in the Senate, but its future is doubtful, and its demise could come as early as Monday, when lawmakers hope to adjourn. The Senate can choose not to take up the bill, but if it does vote, it will vote on the bill in its original form. That version says victims would have unlimited time to file future lawsuits and could sue public and private institutions if they have tried to cover up sexual abuse. Under current law, alleged victims only have until age 24 to file a lawsuit. HB 1090's path has been complex. Two powerful institutions - the Colorado Catholic Conference and the insurance industry - have worked behind-the-scenes to weaken it and limit their liability to suits. The bill's co-sponsor, Rep. Gwyn Green, D-Golden, has been troubled by the hardball politics. "We we're up against a very strong institution (the Catholic Church) with tremendous economic and political resources. They prevailed. But I think eventually this issue is going to bite them," she said. Timothy Dore, executive director of the Colorado Catholic Conference, said church officials make no apologies for fighting the measure. "Lifting the statute of limitations is like going back and changing the rules after the game is over," Dore said. When Fitz-Gerald proposed that victims be allowed to sue for abuse that happened decades ago, some say she waved a red flag in front of the Colorado Catholic Conference. The church insisted that public institutions, such as public schools, be held to the same standards. So the bill was changed to open the door for lawsuits against schools and municipalities. The church's cry that it was being unfairly targeted was a red herring, said lobbyists for cities and counties, but it was also a shrewd political maneuver because it forced an array of public interests to join the fight against the bill. Geoff Wilson, general counsel for the Colorado Municipal League, recalled a meeting with school districts, special districts and insurance specialists for public entities to discuss the bill. "Attorneys told us with one voice that the aspect of the bill that involves extending the statute of limitations for these sorts of acts is very dangerous to us," Wilson said. "We were looking at going without critical insurance coverage for a lot of our operations." Public schools and cities, Wilson pointed out, have neither the same history of concealing sexual abuse as the church, nor the same privileges of privacy. "There's no record of public entities knowingly concealing perpetrators, moving them from rec center to rec center or school to school," Wilson said. "When we find these people in our employ, we fire them, we don't transfer them." Dore, of the Colorado Catholic Conference, said the point is that "abuse is abuse," no matter where it occurs. "If we're going to have a discussion about childhood abuse, you have to talk about it across the board." Early in the session Denver Archbishop Charles Chaput spearheaded an effort to defeat another sex-abuse bill by Fitz-Gerald, charging it simply existed to target the Catholic community. The church hired a high-powered lobbying firm, railed against the bill at the pulpit, urged Catholics to contact lawmakers to oppose the bills and wrote editorials denouncing the measures. Sen. Betty Boyd, D-Lakewood, who faces a contentious race to retain her District 21 seat this November, said she has received numerous calls from Catholics urging her to vote against HB 1090. "I think it's disgusting that the Catholic Church is not interested in protecting children from sex offenders, but only interested in covering its own a--," Boyd said. Pro-bill forces have also lobbied heavily. Thomas Gumbleton of Detroit, the first U.S. Catholic bishop to admit he was sexually abused by a priest 60 years ago, came to Denver to lobby for the bill. Dozens of members of Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests (SNAP) flew to Denver to testify on its behalf. Annemarie Jensen, a lobbyist for the Colorado Coalition Against Sexual Assault, said political maneuvering has been done across the board, but the church definitely flexed its muscle. "What we learned is the length the Catholic Church will go to defeat the bills. They did ads, they did Robo calls and they hired big-time lobbyists. They spent a lot of money," Jensen said. Green and Fitz-Gerald said they would push similar legislation next year if the bill does not become law. For Fitz-Gerald, the bottom line won't change. "As an elected official, I take very seriously the charge of protecting the health and safety of the citizens of Colorado." washingtonam@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-892-5086
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.