Colorado Senate Panel Advances Civil Union Bill in 3-2 Vote

After an afternoon of hearings, Colorado's Senate Judiciary Committee advanced the Colorado Civil Union Act, KDVR reports:

The first vote came late Wednesday afternoon — and it came as no surprise to anyone — when the Senate Judiciary Committee voted 3-to-2 on party lines to send Senate Bill 11 on to the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Bringing down the gavel on the vote was Sen. Jessie Ulibarri, D-Adams County, elected in November, who had sat on the other side of the room the past two years and testified twice about how the bill’s legal protections would help support his partner and their son.

“It’s a very different year, a very exciting year,” Ulibarri told FOX31 Denver prior to the hearing. “We have folks here who are willing to stand up for committed couples and there will be a very different result this year.”

The bill was introduced in the Senate by openly gay Senators Pat Steadman and Lucia Guzman.

The LGBT rights coalition One Colorado applauded the bill's passage:

If passed, SB-11 will provide committed gay and lesbian couples with critical legal protections and responsibilities, such as the ability to take family leave to care for a partner, to make medical and end-of-life decisions for a partner, to live together in a nursing home, and to adopt children together.
 
"Gay and lesbian couples share similar worries as everyone else, like making ends meet, losing their job, or being denied health insurance." said Brad Clark, Executive Director of One Colorado, the lead organization advocating for passage of the bill. "Civil unions are an important part of building the security we all long for."

Said Steadman: "Civil unions will allow committed couples to share in the responsibilities and protections in Colorado law that most families take for granted. Our society is stronger when we promote personal responsibility and taking care of one another."

Added Guzman: "Civil unions are about commitment. They’re about responsibility. And they’re about being able to take care of the one you love. Two people in a committed relationship, gay or straight, should be able to take care of and be responsible for each other. Civil unions allow them to do just that."

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Civil Unions Headed To Colorado Sooner Rather Than Later

With many anti-gay Republicans routed out of Colorado's state government, LGBT activists and Democratic officials are confident they can finally pass civil unions there.

And according to the Denver Post, they're going to start almost immediately after the new session commences.

After two years of fighting over the issue, the Republicans who controlled the House and killed the measure are out of power, paving the way for a civil unions bill to head to Gov. John Hickenlooper, who supports legal recognition for same-sex couples.

But the victory will be bittersweet for Sen. Pat Steadman, the gay lawmaker who has led the fight for civil unions.

The Denver Democrat said he believes allowing gays to marry, rather than just form civil unions, would truly represent equality, but marriage is banned under Colorado's constitution.

And he won't be able to share the moment with his partner of 12 years, Dave Misner, who died in September after a brief battle with pancreatic cancer.

"It's going to be very sad for me, and sort of anticlimactic," Steadman said.

Asked why he's not pushing for marriage equality, Steadman again pointed out that voters amended the constitution to prohibit same-sex nuptials and even though he doesn't like it, he has to abide by the rules.

"As a state senator, I cannot propose marriage equality because our constitution forbids it, and I took an oath to uphold our constitution," Steadman told the paper. "But my oath also requires me to uphold the federal constitution and its promise of equal protection of the law. These obligations are in conflict and I cannot remain satisfied with the status quo."

[Image via Ivan Cockrum.]

Tina Kotek To Be Named First Gay Leader Of Oregon's House

The Democratic majority in Oregon's House of Representatives is set to name openly gay state Rep. Tina Kotek as their new leader tonight.

Kotek, a state representative since 2007, joins Washington's Ed Murray and Colorado's Mark Ferrandino as newly named leaders, which brings the total number of states headed by an out and proud lawmaker to five.

Oregon's KATU offers more from Kotek herself:

Kotek said she didn't set out to break barriers but is honored to represent the gay community. It's important for the gay community to have role models in leadership positions, she said.

"We all look for people out there who look like us," she said.

"I have had emails and text messages from people who are very excited," Kotek said. "I think any time you have a 'first' it's an important thing for the community."

Denis Dison from Victory Fund, the national organization that backs LGBT candidates, said Kotek and her peers are just the latest example of LGBT Americans' inclusion in the legislative system.

"For many years we were building a bench of openly gay officials who could step into those roles, and now we're seeing that around the country," he said.

[Image via KATU]

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Colorado Democrats Select Mark Ferrandino As State's First Openly Gay Speaker

With big wins in the State House on Tuesday, Colorado Democrats won the power to pick the assembly's next speaker and announced today that they've selected openly gay lawmaker Mark Ferrandino.

Ferrandino is the state's first out and proud House Speaker and will lead 36 party peers as they work with 28 of their GOP colleagues to run the state.

Ferrandino got a bit teary during his acceptance speech, in which he spoke about being bullied while growing up in New York. "

"As a kid growing up in New York who had a learning disability and just struggled a lot, was picked on and called names, to be where I am and to have your support to do that, it’s awesome, it’s humbling," he said, according to KDVR. "I couldn’t dream when I was in elementary school and high school that I’d be doing this."

Ferrandino's ascension is especially powerful because it was just six months ago that the GOP squashed a popular domestic partnership bill he helped create.

AFTER THE JUMP, KDVR reporter Eli Stokols' conversation with Ferrandino from yesterday, after Democrats took back control of the Colorado State House and it became clear Ferrandino would be named Speaker.