Rep. Jared Polis was appointed earlier this month to the Academy’s Board of Visitors, which meets Friday and Saturday in Colorado Springs. He is thought to be the first openly gay member serving on an oversight board at any service academy.

The boards report to Congress and the Pentagon on how the academies are doing, including recommendations for change.

Polis opposes the military’s ban on gay and lesbian servicemembers and has twice proposed, then withdrawn, amendments to undo “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policies. Polis’ appointment, made by Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, has veterans on both sides of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” debate wondering if it’s a signal change is coming.

“We’re all reading the tea leaves here,” said Tricia Heller, a Class of ‘87 Air Force Academy graduate who flew C-9 jets for the Air Force before the leaving the service four years ago and coming out.

“I’m not saying ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ is going away. We can’t say that. But this is a good sign,” said Heller, now an attorney in Windsor, Colo. She’s one of about 70 members of the Blue Alliance, an alumni group of gay and lesbian Air Force Academy graduates, plus some straight alums who want to end the ban on gays in the military.

Polis says he doesn’t plan to push for change through the Board of Visitors but did repeat his opposition to the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” ban on gay, lesbian and transgendered servicemembers.

Asked about the policy, Polis said he expects Congress will start debating as soon as this fall a repeal of the 1993 ban on gay servicemembers.

“We expect that to end shortly, and I look forward to being a value to the Academy in making the transition,” Polis said.

Polis’ appointment has sparked a sometimes-fiery debate on military blogs, and even some fellow Board members say they’re perplexed by his appointment. If he were a student at the Academy, Polis would be kicked out.

“This is not the direction I would choose,” said former Rep. Robin Hayes, a Republican from North Carolina who is on the Board and supports the military’s ban on gay servicemembers. Hayes was careful to point out he would welcome Polis to the Board, but Hayes said the military’s ban should stand – especially at the service academies.

“This is certainly a topic of discussion, but to be perfectly frank, I don’t think sexual orientation should be criteria for the diversity we’re working for” at the academies, Hayes said.

Pelosi said in her announcement that the Polis appointment reflects the nation’s diversity. An aide said she wouldn’t elaborate on that but said Pelosi opposes the military’s gay ban.

For opponents of gays in the military, though, the Polis appointment signals a step closer to undoing the 1993 ban.

“This is more than a signal,” said Elaine Donnelly, president of the Washington-based Center For Military Readiness, a group of mostly civilians that favors banning gays from service. “I think when you’re talking about the service academies, you’re talking about the future of the military leadership. So this appointment, it appears to be advocacy.”

Polis said he would stress tolerance, but not bring up changing the gay ban.

“I hope that LGBT cadets feel comfortable” at the Air Force Academy, he said.

Ritter put his pen to the bill without fanfare.  Even the bill’s chief sponsor, Rep. Mark Ferrandino (D) said he did not know the governor had signed it when contacted by the Denver Post.

“It’s an important piece of legislation that will help make sure the state can attract and retain good employees and compete with the private sector,” Ferrandino told The Post.

Critics of the bill also were not informed in advance, infuriating the conservative Colorado Family Action.

“We have no doubt the governor and fellow Colorado legislators heard vehement opposition from their constituents in regards to this bill,” said Action spokesperson Jessica Langfeldt in a statement. 

“If the signing of Senate Bill 88 did not disregard the desires of the people, why was it signed in the dark of the night?”

Under the legislation, a state employee would have to be in a committed relationship for at least a year.  

Workers had been lobbying for the provision for several years but were fought by Republicans who argued it violated a 2006 referendum that defines marriage as a union of one man and one woman.

GOP lawmakers also claimed it would cost too much and was discriminatory because it does not apply to unmarried opposite-sex couples who live together.

The plan is expected to cost about $150,000 a year and will go into effect in July.

In April Ritter also signed without notice a domestic partner bill making it easier for unmarried couples to make medical decision for incapacitated partners and leave property to their partners.

The measure would apply to same and opposite-sex unmarried couples.

The Designated Beneficiary Agreement Act permits any two people – regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity – to enter into designated beneficiary agreements that confer specific legal rights and responsibilities, including the right to receive state employee pension benefits, the right to make medical decisions for an incapacitated partner, and the right to inherit if a partner dies without a will.

Allen Ray Andrade was convicted of murder after beating Zapata to death with a fire extinguisher in July 2008 and sentenced to life without parole.  Now a judge has added 60 years for the additional charges of committing a hate crime, theft of a motor vehicle and identity theft.

At his trial, the jury heard taped telephone conversations of calls Andrade made while in jail to his girlfriend. In one call, Andrade told her that “gay things need to die.”

The defense maintained that Andrade “snapped” after finding out the teen was biologically male. But prosecutors successfully argued that Andrade knew Angie Zapata’s secret for at least 36 hours before the slaying – and killed her not in a sudden rage but because he disliked gays and transgenders.

It was the first case in which the state’s hate crime law has been applied in a case involving a transgendered person.

Colorado added sexual identity to its hate crime law in 2005. It is one of only 11 stages across the country that include transgender protections in their hate crime laws.

The state House passed the bill on a 34-30 vote on Tuesday.  It had already passed the Senate.

Under the legislation the state employee would have to be in a committed relationship for at least a year.  

Workers had been lobbying for the provision for several years but was fought by Republicans who argued it violated a 2006 referendum that defines marriage as a union of one man and one woman.

GOP lawmakers also claimed it would cost too much and was discriminatory because it does not apply to unmarried opposite-sex couples who live together.

The plan is expected to cost about $150,000 a year and will go into effect in July.

Earlier this month Ritter signed a domestic partner bill making it easier for unmarried couples to make medical decision for incapacitated partners and leave property to their partners.

The measure would apply to same and opposite-sex unmarried couples.

The Designated Beneficiary Agreement Act was passed last month in the state House of Representatives and the Senate.

The law will permit any two people – regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity – to enter into designated beneficiary agreements that confer specific legal rights and responsibilities, including the right to receive state employee pension benefits, the right to make medical decisions for an incapacitated partner, and the right to inherit if a partner dies without a will.

Allen Andrade, 32, of Thornton, was sentenced to life in prison without parole after being convicted of killing Angie Zapata, 18. The jury deliberated for just two hours before finding Andrade guilty.

In handing down the sentence, District Judge Marcelo Kopcow said he hoped Andrade thinks “about the violence and the brutality … and the pain you caused not only your family, but the family of Angie Zapata.”

The case was believed to be the first prosecution under Colorado’s bias-crime statute for a crime involving a transgender person. Gay rights activists hope publicity from the case would pressure Congress to add sexual orientation and gender identity to a federal hate crime law.

Prosecutors had argued Andrade knew for hours that Zapata was biologically male and beat her to death because he disliked gays. They said Andrade had attended a court hearing with Zapata where court officials used her legal name, Justin.

A witness at that hearing also testified that when Zapata spoke, she sounded like a man trying to disguise his voice.

Andrade’s attorney didn’t deny that he killed Zapata, but said he had just learned Zapata’s identity after spending hours with her and he lashed out without thinking. Defense attorney Annette Kundelius said Andrade and Zapata agreed to meet for sex after Zapata deceptively described herself as a straight female.

“This is not something that people plan for,” she told jurors. “This isn’t a situation where people know how they would act.”

During the trial, prosecutors played recorded jail conversations where Andrade referred to Zapata as “it” and said it wasn’t as if he “killed a straight, law-abiding citizen.”

“His own statements in the jail call betray the way he values Angie’s life, the way he thought of her as less than, less than us because of who she was,” Chief Deputy District Attorney Robb Miller told jurors.

“Everyone deserves equal protection under the law and no one deserves to die like this,” Miller said.

Kundelius said Andrade’s statements were jokes made by a man who knew he was innocent.

“Was it in poor taste, was it a smart thing to say?” Kundelius asked jurors. “No. But it doesn’t mean he committed murder.”

Maria Zapata, the victim’s mother, called the murder “a selfish act” by Andrade.

“But there is something that he can never take away is the love and the memories my family and I have of my baby, my beautiful, beautiful baby,” she told the court before the sentencing.

Andrade’s sister, Christina Cruz, said her family was “not supporting the outcome, but we do support him as my brother.”

But a prosecutor contended Allen Andrade knew Angie Zapata’s secret for at least 36 hours before the slaying – and killed her not in a sudden rage but because he disliked gays and transgenders.

Andrade, 32, would face a mandatory life sentence if convicted of first-degree murder and between eight and 24 years in prison if convicted of second-degree murder. Other charges against him include bias-motivated crime, which carries three more years, and habitual offender, which could mean decades more in prison.

Andrade’s attorney, Bradley Martin, said the case is about Zapata’s deception and his client’s reaction to that deception.

“This girl that he had just spent the last day with, was in fact a man, and Allen snapped,” Martin declared in opening statements.

Prosecutor Brandi Nieto told jurors that Andrade and Zapata communicated nearly 700 times via text message, cell phone and computer between July 12 and July 16 as Zapata was apparently searching for a roommate. She said Andrade did not make a snap decision but rather decided to kill Zapata after the pair spent hours in Zapata’s tiny one-bedroom apartment.

Andrade could have walked away once he learned Zapata was biologically male, Nieto said.

Martin, who repeatedly referred to Zapata as “Justin,” said the deception started with Zapata’s profile on a social networking site that said she was a straight female.

The two met July 15 and spent the day together, Martin said. Zapata’s clothing and other details in her apartment indicated she was female, the attorney said.

Andrade told investigators that Zapata performed oral sex on him but wouldn’t let him touch her, according to an arrest affidavit.

Left alone in the apartment, Andrade noticed photographs that led him to question Zapata’s gender. When he confronted her, she answered: “I am all woman,” according to the affidavit.

Nieto showed jurors partial transcripts of tape-recorded jail calls in which Andrade allegedly told his girlfriend that he “snapped” and that “gay things need to die.”

In another transcript, Andrade downplays the slaying. “It’s not like I went up to a school teacher and shot her in the head, or killed a straight law-abiding citizen,” he said in the transcript.

Martin said the jail calls were taken out of context as Andrade joked with his girlfriend about a crime he knew he didn’t commit.

Andrade was arrested July 30, nearly two weeks after Zapata’s sisters discovered her body under a blanket in her apartment. Andrade told investigators that he struck Zapata twice in the head with a fire extinguisher and thought he had “killed it” before striking her again as she struggled to get up, the arrest affidavit said.

Andrade is believed to be the first person tried for a hate crime under the sexual orientation section of Colorado’s hate crime law, according to the New York and Los Angeles-based Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. Colorado is one of 11 states to have such designations in their laws.

Andrade has five felony convictions, according to court records.

Allen Ray Andrade is charged with murder as a hate crime – the first time the state’s hate crime law has been applied in a case involving a transgendered person.

Colorado added sexual identity to its hate crime law in 2005. It is one of only 11 stages across the country that include transgender protections in their hate crime laws.

Last week, 50 groups sponsored a full-page ad in 22 Colorado newspapers commemorating Zapata’s life. The ads did not run in northern Colorado, where the trial will be held.

Nevertheless, the District Attorneys office said it was concerned prospective jurors may have seen the ad.

“We are concerned because of all the publicity the case has received, including the ad,” Jennifer Finch, spokeswoman for Weld County District Attorney Ken Buck, told The Denver Post. “It could be that much longer to seat a panel.”

Zapata’s bloodied, battered body was discovered in her Greeley apartment by her sister on July 17, 2008.

Andrade was arrested in the Denver suburb of Thornton, where he lives. Police responding to a noise complaint found him in Zapata’s 2003 PT Cruiser, which had been missing.

Under questioning, Andrade allegedly told investigators that he met Zapata through MocoSpace, a social network for cell phone users. The two met July 15 and spent the day together. Andrade allegedly told investigators that Zapata performed oral sex on him but wouldn’t let him touch her. When he discovered she was biologically male he killed her.

In the taped confession, he allegedly told investigators that he grabbed Zapata’s crotch area, felt male genitalia and became angry. He told investigators that he took a fire extinguisher off a shelf, struck Zapata twice in the head and thought he “killed it.”

But the jury will not hear the confession.

Last month, in a 24-page ruling, Judge Marcelo Kopcow said that Andrade’s rights had been violated because he had told police he was finished answering questions, but investigators persisted with questions leading up to the confession.

“This court finds the defendant’s statement, ‘I’m done. Yeah, I’m not talking right now’ … is a clear statement of the defendant’s request to remain silent and cut off further questioning,” Kopcow said in the written ruling.

Kopcow also told the prosecution it could not describe Andrade as a high-ranking member of a gang that, among other things, hates gays. The judge said it was more speculative than substantive.

He did, however, allow the prosecution to present to the jury tapes of phone calls made by Andrade from jail to his girlfriend.

In one call he said he had “snapped” and that “gay things need to die.”

In ruling that the tapes could be played for the jury, Kopcow said that prisoners “have little, if any, reasonable expectation of privacy while incarcerated.”

The measure would apply to same- and opposite-sex unmarried couples.

The Designated Beneficiary Agreement Act was passed last month in the state House of Representatives and the Senate. The new law, which will take effect on July 1, will permit any two people – regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity – to enter into designated beneficiary agreements that confer specific legal rights and responsibilities, including the right to receive state employee pension benefits, the right to make medical decisions for an incapacitated partner, and the right to inherit if a partner dies without a will.

“Today is a good day for Colorado and all Coloradans,” said Rep. Mark Ferrandino (D), author of the bill.  “This new law provides tools that allow individuals to designate the person they wish to make medical and end of life decisions and who will receive inheritance in the absence of a will, among other things.  This is a good step towards providing equal treatment under the law for all of Colorado’s families.”

Republicans, however, denounced the bill.

Sen. Kevin Lundberg (R) dismissed the measure as “marriage light.”

In 2006, voters passed a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage.  The same year, they rejected another ballot issue that would have given same-sex couples many of the rights of marriage, including property inheritance rights and the power to make medical and funeral arrangements.

During debate on the bill, Sen. Scott Renfroe (R) quoted from the Bible and called homosexuality an “offense to God.”

“When we create laws that go against biblically what we are supposed to stand for, we are allowing to go forward a sin,” Renfroe said on the Senate floor.

“We are taking sins and making them to be legally OK. That is wrong. I’m not saying this is the only sin out there. We have murder. … We don’t make laws making murder legal.”

The remarks brought a swift response from Sen. Jennifer Veiga (D) Colorado’s first openly gay lawmaker and the Senate sponsor of the bill.

“I will stand here today and tell you that God also created me, and the last time I checked, I am who I am,” she said.

Jason Fisk pleaded guilty in 2006 to charges of manslaughter and robbery in the death of Kevin Hale in 2005. He originally was charged with murder.

Fiske’s partner in the killing, Adam Hernandez, 21, is serving an year prison term for manslaughter and theft. He, too, was originally charged with murder.

Fiske received a longer sentence because he was deemed to have been the ringleader in the killing. His attorney’s appealed the sentence arguing the trial court violated his Sixth and Fourteenth Amendment rights, resulting in an excessive sentence.

The appeals court agreed, ordering the trial judge to resentence him.

Montrose County District Judge James Schum sentenced Fisk to six years on each charge, to be served consecutively. That leaves Fiske with a 12 year sentence, less the three years he already has served.

Hale’s body was found in a Montrose park in July 2005, weeks after he had gone to police to complain he had been threatened because he was gay.

Hernandez, Fiske and Hale had been at a bar. Hernandez told investigators he wanted to beat up Hale because Hale had made sexual advances toward him, authorities said at the time.

The day after the slaying, Fiske told police he placed Hale in a chokehold while breaking up a fight between the other two men. The arrest affidavit said Fiske told police he thought Hale was unconscious when they left him in the park.

An autopsy showed Hale died of strangulation, and that he had methamphetamine and epilepsy medication in his system. 

LGBT groups called for hate-crime charges, but prosecutors declined to do so, saying robbery was the real motive for the killing. Hale’s wallet, containing $8, was missing when the body was discovered.

Allen Ray Andrade, 31, is charged with second-degree murder in the death of Angie Zapata, 20. The victim’s bloodied, battered body was discovered in her apartment by her sister on July 17, 2008.

Andrade was arrested in the Denver suburb of Thornton, where he lives. Police responding to a noise complaint found him in Zapata’s 2003 PT Cruiser, which had been missing.

Under questioning, Andrade allegedly told investigators that he met Zapata through MocoSpace, a social network designed primarily for cell phone users. The two met July 15 and spent the day together. Andrade allegedly told investigators that Zapata performed oral sex on him but wouldn’t let him touch her. When he discovered she was biologically male, he killed her.

In the taped confession, he allegedly told investigators that he grabbed Zapata’s crotch area, felt male genitalia and became angry. He told investigators that he took a fire extinguisher off a shelf, struck Zapata twice in the head and thought he “killed it.”

But in a 24 page ruling, Judge Marcelo Kopcow said that Andrade’s rights had been violated because he had told police he was finished answering questions, but investigators persisted with questions leading up to the confession.

“This court finds the defendant’s statement, ‘I’m done. Yeah, I’m not talking right now’ … is a clear statement of the defendant’s request to remain silent and cut off further questioning,” Kopcow said in a written ruling.

Kopcow also told the prosecution it could not describe Andrade as a high ranking member of a gang that among other things hates gays. The judge said it was more speculative than substantive.

He did, however, allow the prosecution to present to the jury tapes of phone calls made by Andrade from jail to his girlfriend.

In one call he said he had “snapped” and that “gay things need to die.”

In ruling that the tapes could be played for the jury Kopcow said that prisoners “have little, if any, reasonable expectation of privacy while incarcerated.”