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Colorado gay rights groups said there are no federal or state laws that give basic protection to employees based on sexual orientation.

"It means that it is perfectly legal in Colorado to fire somebody because they are gay or lesbian," said Michael Brewer, public policy director with the Gay Lesbian Bisexual Transgender Community Center for Colorado.

The Off Duty Conduct Statute that Owens cited can be used to fight sexual orientation discrimination in the workplace but has rarely been used and is not designed to address civil rights issues, said Veiga, who actually brought the statute to Owens' attention.