Colorado Amendment 2, also known as "Romer v. Evans", served as a major uniting factor for the gay community in 1996, when the Supreme Court ruled that the law was unconstitutional. Amendment 2 was passed in Colorado in 1992 and prevented any city, town or county in the state from taking any legislative, executive, or judicial action from recognizing homosexual citizens as a protected class. In other words, the legislation took away the ability to put in place non-discrimination laws in the state of Colorado, giving it the "hate state" reputation. Due to a strong activist base, the case was pushed to the Supreme Court, where it was overturned. Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote the majority opinion, stating that: