Colorado and Minnesota lawmakers approve unions for gay couples
Historic votes in Colorado and Minnesota approved civil unions and marriages, respectively, for same-sex couples.
Dr. Paul Melchert, left, gets interrupted by his son, Emmett, at a news conference Feb. 27, in St. Paul, Minn. Behind him, his partner James Zimerman holds Emmett's twin brother, Gabriel. Minnesota lawmakers passed a bill today to legalize gay marriage. A few states to the south, Colorado lawmakers passed a bill to allow civil unions for same-sex couples.
Jim Mone/AP
DENVER
On the same day that the Minnesota House and Senate both passed gay marriage bills along strict party-line votes, Colorado lawmakers took a historic vote to approve civil unions for gay couples. For Colorado legislators, this highlighted a dramatic shift in the political landscape of a state where voters banned same-sex marriage just six years ago.
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In both states, the bills will go to the desks of Democratic governors: John Hickenlooper in Colorado and Mark Dayton in Minnesota.
Applause erupted in the Colorado Capitol as the bill won final passage on a 39-26 House vote, with two Republicans joining all Democrats to approve the measure. Several dozen people watching from the House gallery left smiling and hugging, and some wiped away tears of joy.
Once the measure is signed, Colorado will join eight states that have civil unions or similar laws. Nine states and the District of Columbia allow gay marriage now, but that number will rise to ten states when Gov. Dayton signs the Minnesota measure, as he has said he will do.
"This is the best step toward equality Colorado could take right now. I'm thankful we got it done," said Katy Jensen, a 34-year-old Denver engineer who plans a civil union with her partner after the bill becomes law on May 1.
Last year, Colorado's Democratic Sen. Jessie Ulibarri, a gay lawmaker serving his first term, was among those in the House gallery with his children, watching as Republicans used their one-vote majority in the House to prevent the measure from being debated in the waning hours of the session, thus killing the bill.
"I sat with my kids at midnight, wondering what was going to happen the next time we had a tragedy. What would happen if I had to take my kids to the ER and then I was questioned whether or not I was really their dad," said Ulibarri, one of eight gay Democratic lawmakers serving in the Colorado Legislature.
Civil unions for gay couples became a rallying cry for Democrats who took control of the Colorado House in last year's elections, and they vowed an early vote on the proposal.
"Elections have consequences," said Republican Rep. Frank McNulty, the former House speaker.
Democrats now control both chambers of the legislature, and the party elected Colorado's first gay House speaker, Mark Ferrandino.
"The people spoke in November, and we are fulfilling a promise we made at the end of last session," Ferrandino said Tuesday.
