February 24, 2012 07:35 PM UTC

Would Coors co-sponsor federal personhood bill currently endorsed by 111 Congresspeople?

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• by: Jason Salzman

(The real question is, why wouldn’t he? – promoted by Colorado Pols)

ColoradoPols broke the news last month that congressional candidate Joe Coors gave $1,000 to Personhood Colorado, in support of its efforts to pass a personhood amendment in 2010.

A handful of news outlets subsequently reported the Coors donation, but it appears no one has asked personhood activists about Coors and his support of their effort. You’d assume the personhood folks would welcome his support because Coors could become a key ally.

If Coors is elected to Congress, he could put his vote where his money is. And, presumably, where his mouth has also been.

Coors could join the 111 U.S. Representatives who’ve co-sponsored legislation that would define “person” under the 14th Amendment to include zygotes. If passed by Congress and signed into law by the President, any of these bills would make personhood national law–or at least set a court battle with an unknown outcome. (Due to unusual language in the 14th Amendment, a more complicated process, involving approval by state legislatures, is not required to amend the 14th Amendment.)

I know it’s not likely that these bills would become law, but I’ve lost count of the unlikely things that have happened in American politics over the last two years. So, given the seriousness of the bills, which would outlaw forms of contraception as well as abortion, they should be taken seriously.

Yet, no reporter has asked Coors if he’d co-sponsor these bills. It’s obviously fair and important question.

Asked about Coors, Personhood USA legal analyst Gualberto Garcia-Jones told me via email, “Joe Coors did donate to the Personhood amendment in Colorado in the past.  I have not personally met Joe Coors, but I have heard that he is supportive of Personhood as he is pro-life.”

Garcia Jones wrote that he welcomes the continued support of Coors, just as he “would welcome all support, whether wealthy and powerful or poor and humble.”

Coors is battling Matt Ball in the GOP primary, to be held in June, for the opportunity to challenge U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter. Ball is kicking off his campaign tomorrow at Front Range Community College.