An August 23 Cañon City Daily Record article reported Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob Beauprez's praise for his running mate, Janet Rowland, and later quoted Beauprez discussing his views on gay marriage but did not note the recent controversy surrounding Rowland's comments linking gay marriage to bestiality, polygamy, incest, and marriages between adults and children. In reference to Rowland, the Daily Record article by reporter Debbie Bell uncritically quoted Beauprez as claiming, “People absolutely love her.” But, as The Denver Post reported on August 15, “within hours” of her August 14 selection as Beauprez's running mate, “Rowland was embroiled in controversy” over her comments about gay marriage.

As Colorado Media Matters previously noted, during a discussion of a referendum to allow domestic partnerships on the March 17 broadcast of Rocky Mountain PBS' Colorado State of Mind, Rowland said: “I believe marriage is between a man and a woman. Homosexuality is an alternative lifestyle, that doesn't make it a marriage. Some people have group sex -- should we allow two men and three women to marry? Should we allow polygamy with one man and five wives? For some people, the alternative lifestyle is bestiality -- do we allow a man to marry a sheep? ... What if somebody wants to marry a cousin or an aunt or an uncle? What if it's an adult with a child? Why do we say you have to be 18 to get married; why can't 11-year-olds?”

Although Beauprez was quoted on the issue of gay marriage and civil unions in the August 23 article, the Daily Record never mentioned Rowland's Colorado State of Mind comments.

From Bell's August 23 Cañon City Daily Record article, “Beauprez touts his running mate during Cañon City visit”:

Republican gubernatorial hopeful Bob Beauprez said Tuesday his choice of running mate is closely aligned with his conservative political stance and that she seeks answers to social problems outside the scope of government.

Janet Rowland of Grand Junction, Beauprez's selection for Lieutenant Governor, has an extensive back-ground in human services. A 10-year veteran of the Mesa County human services department, Rowland is a relative newcomer to the political arena. She was elected Mesa County Commissioner in 2004.

“She has just impressed me so much,” Beauprez said during a campaign stop Tuesday morning at the new GOP headquarters in Cañon City. “She is a doer.”

Beauprez said he was impressed with Rowland's skill set and believed she would be a positive addition to the Republican ticket in the governor's race.

“She has a wealth of experiences in human services,” Beauprez said. “People absolutely love her. She is a star.”

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Finally, Beauprez said he was against a gay rights amendment because civil rights should be protected for all citizens, not just a few.

“Maybe we need to take all civil rights and put them in one package,” Beauprez said. “Everybody's civil rights ought to be protected. But it should not be narrowly defined to only same-sex relationships.”

Beauprez said he believed the November ballot issue about same-sex relationships is the first step toward legalizing gay marriage in the state.

“Marriage is one of those absolute definitions to me,” Beauprez said. “Marriage is between one man and one woman.”