An attorney by training, Senator Pat Steadman has worked for equal rights for LGBT Coloradans for over two decades. In 1992, he helped organize the lawsuit challenging Colorado's infamous "Amendment 2," an anti-gay initiative that was declared unconstitutional by the United State Supreme Court in 1996 in the landmark Romer v. Evans ruling. Prior to his election, Senator Steadman was a partner in a successful lobbying firm in Denver where his clients included LGBT advocacy groups, and on their behalf he championed anti-discrimination laws, second parent adoption, hate crimes protections and equal benefits laws. Senator Steadman was the lead sponsor of Colorado's recently enacted civil unions law.