We’ll Probably Win A Thing: Colorado’s Civil Unions Bill Looks Promising

feature image via Shutterstock

My beautiful Rocky Mountain state, Colorado, is another step closer to passing SB-11, a Civil Unions bill. The bill that has formerly passed the Senate Judiciary Committee and has now passed the Senate Appropriations Committee by a vote of 4-3.

This is great news, because the Democrat-led State Congress is expected to pass SB-11, as well, and Governor John Hickenlooper has been a proponet of equality from the start, even tweeting, “Civil unions [are] about justice and economic prosperity. We’ve said before, saying again: Pass this bill!”

The bill has been sponsored by four of Colorado’s out gay legislators, including Sen. Pat Steadman, Sen. Lucia Guzman, Rep. Sue Schafer and Speaker of the House Rep. Mark Ferrandino. It’s expected to be on Governor Hickenlooper’s desk by early spring and become law on May 1st.

If passed, SB-11 provides committed gay and lesbian couples with crucial legal protections, a selection of which includes the ability to take family leave to care for a partner, make medical decisions for a partner, to live together in a nursing home and to adopt children together.

This is nice change from what happened last May, when the State Congress tried to pass a civil unions bill with a Republican majority in the house. The bill passed the Democrat-led Senate without a hitch and Governor Hickenlooper even called a special session in order to get it passed through the House. Republican Speaker Frank McNulty tried everything he could do to defeat the bill, including sending the bill to the Republican-controlled Colorado House of Representatives State, Veterans, and Military Affairs Committee, where it was defeated on a 5 to 4 party-line vote. Republican Speaker Frank McNulty sent the bill to this — the fourth committee to consider the bill — so it could be killed. Rep. Don Coram (R), who cast a deciding vote to kill the bill, acknowledged doing so despite having a gay son.

The Executive Director of One Colorado, Brad Clark released a statement after SB-11 passed the Senate Appropriations Committee saying,

Our community isn’t advocating for civil unions in order to achieve some historic victory for Colorado. We’re advocating for our families — for the couples that have been together 40 years, for the kids whose parents aren’t treated equally in the eyes of the law, for the gay student who finally sees his government recognizing who he is. That’s what we’re fighting for.

Colorado voters overwhelmingly support civil union legislation, with 57% of polled Coloradoans in favor of the civil unions bill that was killed in the last session. With conscious voting efforts, Colorado now has a Democrat-led Senate and House, as well as a Democratic Governor. I don’t want to jinx anything, but I think we can start to get our hopes up for this giant stepping stone on the path to full equality for the LGBTQ community.

Before you go! Autostraddle runs on the reader support of our AF+ Members. If this article meant something to you today — if it informed you or made you smile or feel seen, will you consider joining AF and supporting the people who make this queer media site possible?

Join AF+!

Hansen

Hansen is the former DIY & Food Editor of Autostraddle.com and likes to spend most days making and cooking and writing. She teaches creative writing at Colorado State University and is pursuing a Masters of Fine Arts in her free time.

Hansen has written 189 articles for us.

6 Comments

  1. I work at the Capitol and would love to meet up with autostraddlers if anyone plans on being there! Shoot me a message or look for the girl working on her laptop…it has a ‘you do you’ sticker on it :)

  2. YES. Get your hopes up. This is gonna happen. Because #electionshaveconsequences. Gay ones, this year.

    ALSO NOTEWORTHY: The newest gay man to grace the CO Senate floor, Jessie Ulibarri, was the one who chaired the committee hearing when it passed the Judiciary last Wednesday. This is a BFD, not least because Jessie *killed it* with his questioning of the people giving bigoted anti-gay testimony and defending their legal right to be bigots. This is his first year in the CO legislature, but it’s fairly clear that this man is going to do big things, so y’all should probably keep your eye on him.
    (full disclosure: he’s also a friend of mine, but he actually *is* a big deal and i’m not just saying that because i’m biased.)

Comments are closed.