Colorado Civil Unions Bill Killed On A Party Line Vote In House Judiciary Committee

[RetiredTrotskyite]

I am getting so sick of this bullshit. It just never seems to end.

After hours of emotional testimony, Senate Bill 172, the Colorado Civil Unions Bill, was killed on a party line vote in the House Judiciary Committee Thursday night.

The Bill, which was approved by the Democratic Senate last week, was sponsored by Democratic Senator Pat Steadman and Representative Mark Ferrandino, both of whom are gay. The measure would have allowed gay couples to enter into legally-recognized partnerships that would have afforded them many of the rights that are currently reserved for married couples.

"It's explicitly different, a contract within law, but not marriage," Ferrandino said at the beginning of the hearing.

Nonetheless, opponents of the bill argued that the bill essentially amounts to gay marriage, which Colorado voters rejected in a 2006 ballot initiative.

"A vote in favor of civil unions… is a vote for same sex marriage," said Doug Napier, Senior Legal Counsel for the conservative Colorado Family Action during his testimony against SB 172.

Proponents of the bill included many gay couples who gave tearful testimonies on what the passage of Senate Bill 172 would mean to them.

Others supporters predicted that the bill would help lure jobs to Colorado, and add money to state coffers.



http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/31/colorado-civil-unions-bil_4_n_843335.html

[IrishEyes]

1. That is a shame.

I was hoping it would pass in colorado.

[Unvanguard]

2. It was always going to be an uphill fight in the House.

They will need unified party control to pass it, probably, like the other states.

[Creideiki]

3. You mean like Maryland and New York?

Yup. Unified party control is all we'd need.

[Unvanguard]

4. Unified party control is necessary but not sufficient.

The only real exception coming to mind is Vermont--but that's the exception that proves the rule, because in Vermont the Republican governor vetoed marriage equality legislation and had his veto overridden by an overwhelmingly Democratic legislature.

It's not that Democrats are always good, it's just that Republicans virtually never are.

[yardwork]

5. So much for the argument that "if only you don't insist on calling it marriage!"

[RetiredTrotskyite]

6. Things Like This...

prove that they are lying when the say !If only you didn't want to call it 'marriage'. We have seen similar things happen in states where civil unions were up for a vote. They keep making it clear that they think they are good Christians. Whatever happened to "thou shalt not bear false witness".

[yardwork]

7. They break so many of the Ten Commandments I often wonder if they are secret atheists.

Except that atheists are generally much more honest and decent people than these christianists.