Colorado Senate Advances Civil Unions Bill After “Historic” Debate

The Denver Post reports that same sex couples in Colorado would receive many of the rights, responsibilities, and benefits of marriage under a civil-unions bill that earned initial approval Wednesday morning in the Senate. Democratic Senator Pat Steadman said he has many constituents in his Denver district who support the bill, but he said there are Coloradans in every Senate district who back the measure. Steadman spoke emotionally on several occasions when talking about hospital visits, personal property, and other issues same sex couples face but without the protections afforded to others. “One of prime beneficiaries of this bill are children,” Steadman said, because they would protected by child support and such if the measure becomes law. “Bear in mind, children do not choose their parents.” He called the debate “historic and civil.” Opposing the measure was Senator Kevin Lundberg (Republican-Berthoud), who said that “This is a dramatic and radical change to marriage in Colorado.” There was little question that the bill would succeed in the Senate, where Democrats hold 20 seats to the 15 held by Republicans. The question is what happens when it goes to the House, where Republicans have a one vote advantage. Steadman and Representative Mark Ferrandino, both Denver Democrats who are openly gay, introduced Senate Bill 172 on Valentine’s Day; the measure allowing unmarried adults, regardless of gender, to apply to a county clerk for a civil-union license. The legal benefits, protections and responsibilities granted under the law to spouses would apply to parties in civil unions, including the ability to file a claim based on wrongful death, eligibility for family-leave benefits, and spousal privilege. Opponents argue voters already spoke on the subject in 2006 when they rejected Referendum I, put on the ballot by the then Democrat-controlled legislature. The measure would have given same-sex couples many of the rights and responsibilities as traditional couples. That same year, 55-percent of voters approved a constitutional amendment defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman, effectively banning same sex marriage in Colorado. But the executive director of the gay-rights group One Colorado said voters’ attitudes have changed since then, Brad Clark referencing a 2010 poll in saying 72-percent of Coloradans support “legal recognition” for same-sex couples.