At a Wednesday Title Setting Board meeting at the Colorado Secretary of State's office, one Colorado man had sex on his mind. But not in a way you might think.
With two Sheriff's deputies standing by, Page Penk, a graduate student at the University of Colorado-Denver, attempted to convince board members of the validity of an initiative he is proposing for the November statewide ballot that would ask voters to enshrine in the state Constitution a one day sex strike by women to symbolize opposition to the Iraq War.
Penk's language specifically states: "Be it Enacted by the People of the State of Colorado: Shall there be a sex strike by the women only, January 1st, 2009, for one day in length, in support of the wife's and parents of U.S. combat troops receiving pay for support services rendered to the military, through an amendment to the Colorado Constitution?"
After Penk argued with the three-person panel for nearly an hour, the language - typos and all - was approved. With no organized opposition, Penk is now cleared to begin collecting the more than 76,000 signatures required to get the initiative on the ballot.
Penk believes that a sex strike is a different and creative way to make a statement. "This is about respect for the families of our military," he said. He began his testimony before the board Wednesday morning by attempting to read the names of all soldiers killed in the Iraq War. He was stopped by the panel several names into his list.
Penk spoke to Face The State Wednesday afternoon, proclaiming, "The war is underground. It's secret. It's not affecting the middle class. It's not being covered by the media. I feel like the war is taboo to talk about."
Clearly it's time for Penk to turn on a TV or crack a newspaper. The war is very much discussed and covered in the media.
But while Penk's idea may sound like a joke to you and me, he is very serious about the venture. Now if only he could get enough signatures to secure a spot on the ballot. What would the Feminist Majority think?