It was co-founded by Tony Marco, Kevin Tebedo and David Noebel in the early 1990s.[1][3] Will Perkins, a former car dealer from
Colorado Springs, was the chairman of the board.[3][4] Originally, it was called the Colorado Coalition for Family Values, but they dropped the word 'coalition' after a
radio presenter said it sounded
Marxist.[5] Some have argued, because of the proximity of timing for the moving of Focus on the Family to Colorado Springs, that
James Dobson's move to
Colorado Springs in 1991 led to its establishment. However, it was truly coincidental timing as Focus on the Family had nothing to do with the founding of Colorado for Family Values. Dobson's
Focus on the Family is independent from Colorado for Family Values.[6][7] It has also been linked to
Traditional Values,
Summit Ministries,
Concerned Women for America, and the
Eagle Forum.[1]Bill McCartney, the founder of
Promise Keepers, is a supporter.[5][8]
Colorado for Family Values was created specifically for the purpose of countering an objective of the Colorado Human Relations Commission, to introduce legislation that would effectively add the behavior of homosexuality to the list of protected class status, thus creating the legal process of strict scrutiny for claims of discrimination made by homosexual individuals. It drafted and promoted Amendment 2 in 1992, which led to the United States Supreme Court case Romer v. Evans.[9][10][11][12]