The Colorado Senate on Wednesday began
debate on a bill that would give gay and lesbian couples many of the
benefits and responsibilities of marriage.
According
to the Huffington Post, the chamber approved Senator Pat
Steadman's gay-inclusive civil unions bill on a second reading
Wednesday morning.
Steadman, who is openly gay, told
colleagues that the bill was essential for ensuring “very basic,
but very important legal protections … that no family should be
without.”
A third and final vote on the measure
could come as early as today. All 20 Democratic Senate members have
co-sponsored the measure, nearly guaranteeing passage in the
Democrat-controlled chamber.
Democratic Representative Mark
Ferrandino will introduce the measure in the House.
Ferrandino has claimed there is
Republican support for the measure in the GOP-controlled House. But
whether the measure reaches the House floor remains to be seen.
Supporters worry that House Speaker Frank McNulty, a Highlands Ranch
Republican, will assign the bill to a hostile committee, thereby
killing it.
The
Colorado Statesman has quoted McNulty as saying: “When
we get it, we will assign it to committee and wherever it's assigned,
it will receive a fair hearing.”
On Tuesday, a
civil unions bill was introduced in Delaware.