Two Republicans join majority in historic House vote

by Mike Andrew - SGN Staff Writer

A bill giving Colorado's LGBT residents the ability to form civil unions has cleared its final legislative hurdle.

The Colorado House passed the bill, SB 11, by a 39-26 vote on March 12, about a month after the Senate did likewise. The measure now goes to Gov. John Hickenlooper, who has promised to sign it into law.

All the House Democrats joined with two Republicans in voting to legalize civil unions.

Last year, when Republicans controlled the House, as many as five Republican legislators were reportedly prepared to support the bill, enough to pass it.

Republican House leaders blocked the bill at the last minute, however, sending it back to committee and effectively killing it for the year.

But after Democratic gains in the 2012 election, openly Gay Democrat Mark Ferrandino became Speaker of the House, and he expedited the legislation. Besides Ferrandino, four other House members and two Senators are openly Gay.

'We are equal in many ways to the 60 members of this body - our love is not equal, and our families are not equal,' Ferrandino said during the debate.

The House initially approved the civil unions bill on March 11, the day before the final vote on the measure. After the preliminary vote, it was clear that the bill would be passed the next day.

'This bill is about three simple things,' Ferrandino said at the start of the debate. 'It's about love, it's about family, and it's about equality under the law.'

LGBT ADVOCATES CHEER
Brad Clark, executive director of LGBT rights group One Colorado, hailed the legislature's vote.

'This historic victory belongs to the thousands of committed couples across the state, who have worked tirelessly for three years to make it possible for all loving families to have the protection they need to take care of one another,' Clark said.

'Across the country, we've seen a sea change in public opinion on this issue. A vast majority of Coloradans support providing committed same-sex couples with the security they need, and these fair-minded folks are glad to see civil unions finally passed. We applaud the bipartisan group of Representatives and Senators who voted to affirm that all families are worthy of respect.

'SB 11 includes common-sense exemptions for faith leaders to ensure they're never required to perform or certify a civil union. Despite some faith-based opposition to the bill, the coalition advocating for civil unions includes more than 200 faith leaders,' One Colorado added.

'As a faith leader, I celebrate the passage of civil unions,' said the Rev. Nancy Bowen, executive of the Mountain Desert District of the Unitarian Universalist Association.

'We believe that our congregations should honor all that is holy and what is more holy than love? Civil unions protect our religious freedom to recognize the unions of all loving couples in our state,' Bowen added.

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