Equality of the sexes

• Currency: Current through 11/8/2022 Election
• Citation: Colo. Const. art. II § 29

Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the state of Colorado or any of its political subdivisions on account of sex.

Cite as Colo. Const. art. II § 29

Source:

L. 72: Entire section added, p. 647, effective upon proclamation by the Governor, January 11, 1973.

ANNOTATION

Law reviews. For comment, "Bastardizing the Legitimate Child: The Colorado Supreme Court Invalidates the Uniform Parentage Act Presumption of Legitimacy in R. McG. v. J.W.", see 59 Den. L.J. 157 (1981). For article, "The Future of Comparable Worth Theory", see 56 U. Colo. L. Rev. 99 (1984). For article, "Abortion in Colorado: If Roe v. Wade is Reversed", see 19 Colo. Law. 807 (1990).

Legislative classifications based solely on sexual status must receive closest judicial scrutiny. People v. Green, 183 Colo. 25, 514 P.2d 769 (1973).

For a differentiation based on gender to be reasonable, it must serve an important government objective and be substantially related to that objective. In re Estate of Musso, 932 P.2d 853 (Colo. App. 1997).

Common law rebuttable presumption that husband owns all household goods violates this section. To the extent that the presumption differentiates between men and women exclusively on the basis of gender, it is impermissible. In re Estate of Musso, 932 P.2d 853 (Colo. App. 1997).

Separateness of spouses is clearly established by this provision and by the married women act, § 14-2-201 et seq. Commercial Union Ins. Co. v. State Farm Fire & Cas. Co., 546 F. Supp. 543 (D. Colo. 1982).

Court's construction of uniform parentage act violated equal protection. The juvenile court's construction of the uniform parentage act, denying a natural father not married to the natural mother statutory capacity or standing to commence a paternity action in connection with a child born to the natural mother during her marriage to another in order to establish that he was the natural father of the child, violated equal protection of the laws under the fourteenth amendment to the United States Constitution, § 25 of this article, and this section. R. McG. v. J.W., 200 Colo. 345, 615 P.2d 666 (1980).