Lawmakers on Wednesday are expected to
introduce a bill which would recognize the relationships of gay and
lesbian couples with civil unions.
State Senator Pat Steadman will
introduce the measure as lawmakers reconvene.
Steadman has pushed for such
recognition during the last two legislative sessions. But
Republicans who controlled the House blocked the proposal from
reaching the House floor.
Rather than allowing a vote on the bill
last year, Republicans shut down voting altogether, killing nearly
two dozen unrelated measures.
The incident is believed to have hurt
the GOP, which lost control of the House in November.
Democrats have since elected Mark
Ferrandino, an openly gay man who sponsored the bill in the House
last year, as House speaker, nearly assuring passage in the chamber.
Ferrandino told the Durango
Herald that it was too early to begin discussing repeal of
Colorado's voter-approved ban on gay marriage.
“I don't think we're there yet as a
state,” Ferrandino said.
“What I want to do is make sure
couples in Colorado, families in Colorado, have the recognition and
legal protections that we can afford them under the Colorado
Constitution. So civil unions is the right thing to do.”