Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper has
said civil unions are about civil rights, not denying religious
freedom.
Earlier this week, a bill seeking to
legalize civil unions in Colorado cleared a Senate committee. A
second committee will hear the bill before sending it to the full
Senate.
Hickenlooper, a Democrat, gave his
thoughts on the third such legislative effort in a row in an
interview from Davos, Switzerland, where he is representing Colorado
at the World Economic Forum.
“This is a question of civil rights,”
Hickenlooper told Colorado's
Morning News anchors April Zesbaugh and Steffan Tubbs on 850
KOA radio. “We're not trying to tell any church what marriage is
or trying to make that kind of decision for a church. What we're
saying is that everyone should have the same legal rights, and I
think that's what's going to happen with this legislation.”
If the bill is approved, Colorado would
join five other states – Delaware, Illinois, New Jersey, Rhode
Island and Hawaii – which offer the union. All five of those
states, however, are considering or are expected to consider moving
to full marriage.
(Related: Bills
legalizing, banning gay marriage introduced in Hawaii.)