The April 12 edition of the Rocky Mountain News featured two articles that continued the News' pattern of mischaracterizing a second-parent adoption bill and of not identifying a Jefferson County Commissioner accused of malfeasance as an elected Republican officeholder. An article by April M. Washington misleadingly described House Bill 1330 as a “measure to allow gay couples to adopt.” Furthermore, an article by Charley Able failed to mention that Jefferson County Commissioner Jim Congrove, currently under investigation by state authorities, is an elected Republican official.

The focus of Washington's April 12 article about the state Senate's initial approval of HB 1330, which would allow second-parent adoption, echoed the rhetoric of the conservative Christian organization Focus on the Family. The article, which ran under the headline “Senate OKs adoption by same-sex couples,” reported that the bill “won initial Senate approval Wednesday, despite several lawmakers' objections that it advances the 'homosexual agenda.' ” Although the News noted that the bill's sponsor, Sen. Jennifer Veiga (D-Denver), “contends that same-sex couples, grandparents, aunts and uncles, and other relatives have a hard time getting government benefits and providing health care coverage to children they're raising because Colorado's adoption law allows only married couples or singles -- gay or straight -- to adopt,” it also reported Focus on the Family's claim that “the bill is a back-door effort to legalize adoption by gay couples.”

While it is true that HB 1330 would allow same-sex couples to adopt children, the measure makes no direct reference to same-sex adoption, as Colorado Media Matters has noted. Rather, it "[a]llows a child to be adopted by a specified second adult parent upon the written and verified consent of a single parent if the child has no other legal parent."

In addition to the News' ongoing mischaracterization of HB 1330, Able's April 12 article continued another News trend of ignoring the Republican Party affiliation of elected officials accused of wrongdoing while in office. The News reported that “the Colorado Bureau of Investigation has been looking into whether any laws were broken when Jefferson County, at [Jim] Congrove's urging, hired his friend to investigate people involved in a lawsuit against Congrove and other county officials and employees,” it failed to note that Congrove is an elected GOP official.

Despite the News' publication of one article identifying Congrove as “a Republican and former state legislator,” Colorado Media Matters has documented numerous instances (here, here, and here) in which the News failed to point out Congrove's party affiliation.

From the April 12 Rocky Mountain News article “Senate OKs adoption by same-sex couples,” by April M. Washington:

A measure to allow gay couples to adopt won initial Senate approval Wednesday, despite several lawmakers' objections that it advances the “homosexual agenda.”

The bill is expected to get final Senate OK within days and head to the governor, who has signaled he will sign it.

[...]

The Senate approved the bill on a party-line voice vote, with Democrats arguing the Second Parent Adoption Bill isn't about promoting the gay agenda, but about protecting children being raised in nontraditional families.

House Bill 1330's sponsor, Sen. Jennifer Veiga, D-Denver, contends that same-sex couples, grandparents, aunts and uncles, and other relatives have a hard time getting government benefits and providing health care coverage to children they're raising because Colorado's adoption law allows only married couples or singles -- gay or straight -- to adopt.

[...]

The bill has been condemned by conservative religious groups, including Focus on the Family, who have called it a “thinly disguised effort to legalize adoption by gay couples.”

From the April 12 Rocky Mountain News article “Jeffco probe may be kept secret: Gag order draws shade on dealings of commissioner,” by Charley Able:

GOLDEN -- A routine request for the appointment of a special prosecutor to decide whether charges should be filed in a case involving Jefferson County Commissioner Jim Congrove apparently has led to a judge's order that could keep the results of the investigation from the public.

For more than two months, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation has been looking into whether any laws were broken when Jefferson County, at Congrove's urging, hired his friend to investigate people involved in a lawsuit against Congrove and other county officials and employees.

Former Commissioner Dave Auburn has said that Congrove also had others investigated, including current and former county employees.

Congrove has denied any knowledge of the county-funded investigations conducted by his friend, former Denver policeman Daril Cinquanta, and Cinquanta has denied investigating anyone other than those involved in the lawsuit filed by county critic Mike Zinna.

Zinna's attorney, Chris Paulsen, reportedly also was put under surveillance by Cinquanta.