A Colorado House panel on Thursday
killed a bill that would give gay and lesbian couples many of the
benefits and responsibilities of marriage.
After hearing six hours of testimony,
the Republican-controlled Judiciary Committee voted against sending
the measure to a second committee. As expected, the vote split along
party lines.
The measure, which was sponsored by two
openly gay Democrats, Representative Mark Ferrandino and Senator Pat
Steadman, both from Denver, won
passage in the Senate last Thursday with the help of three
Republicans.
While all six GOP committee members
were on record as opposing the measure, supporters had hoped the
votes of their colleagues in the Senate would affect the outcome in
the committee.
“This is not a radical concept,”
Ferrandino told the Denver Post. “It's a mainstream
concept. … This does not end marriage.”
While careful not to mention names,
Ferrandino had claimed that there was Republican support for the
measure in the GOP-controlled House.
It is the second high-profile loss for
gay rights activists in a month. Three
weeks ago, the Maryland House decided to shelve a gay marriage bill.
Delaware, however, continues
on track to passing a similar civil unions bill.