Colorado Legalizes Civil Unions For Same-Sex Couples

Some Republicans joined the Democratic majority in the legislature to approve the measure.

“This is a historic moment to be seized and to be cherished,” said Representative Pete Lee, a Democrat from Colorado Springs, as the House weighed civil unions for the final time on Tuesday.

“We vote today to redeem our friends,” he added. “Our aunts, our uncles, our sisters, our children and, dare I say, our colleagues, from the scourge of discrimination and inequality.”

Leading the efforts to pass the legislation were Senator Pat Steadman and Mark Ferrandino, the House speaker, both Democrats from Denver and two of eight openly gay state legislators here. The bill passed the House by a vote of 39-26. The legislation had previously cleared the Senate, where Democrats also hold a majority. Gov. John Hickenlooper is expected to sign the bill into law in the coming weeks.

Currently 19 other states and the District of Columbia recognize civil unions, marriage and domestic partnerships, or other benefits for same-sex couples, according to the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force

By: Cheston Catalano

Cheston Catalano is a Kentucky-based journalist whose work has been featured in the Chattanooga Times Free Press and the Clarksville Leaf Chronicle. He is a long-time contributor to Liberaland.