March 12, 2013 07:59 AM UTC

Civil Unions: A Long Legislative Journey That Ends Today

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• by: Colorado Pols

FOX 31's Eli Stokols:

On Monday morning, the Colorado House of Representatives did something it has never done before, debating the civil unions bill that’s been introduced for three straight years.

The debate could have happened at the end of last year’s session, after civil unions survived three successive hearings before GOP-controlled committees, but then Speaker Frank McNulty shut down the House floor on the session’s penultimate day, effectively running out the clock on the bill and 30 others.

“This marks the first day in my time here that the full House will debate civil unions,” said the sponsor, Rep. Mark Ferrandino, D-Denver, who became the current House Speaker after Democrats swept competitive statehouse races last fall just months after the legislative meltdown over civil unions.

“This bill is about love, family and equality under the law.”

Final passage in the state House of Representatives of the Colorado Civil Union Act today marks the completion of a legislative campaign to enact basic rights for the state's gay and lesbian couples that began in 2006, when the Democratic-controlled legislature sent Referendum I to the ballot bypassing GOP Gov. Bill Owens. That referendum narrowly failed, and a constitutional gay marriage ban, Amendment 43, passed that year: even as Democrats celebrated the second in what would become an unparalleled string of electoral victories in 2006, this election was a also a nadir for LGBT equality advocates in Colorado.

Since then, there have been many changes.

Public attitudes on equality for gays and lesbians are undergoing a rapid generational shift as older conservative voters leave the electorate and are replaced by, on both sides of the aisle, younger, more tolerant voters and officeholders. The civil unions/"domestic partnerships" narrowly rejected by voters in 2006 now enjoy wide support according to poll after poll. Beyond that, public opinion has overall moderated on the issue as more and more pop culture figures, sports celebrities, and others have "come out" for a more tolerant society. Between 2006 and the re-introduction of civil unions legislation three years ago, other limited steps like the 2009 designated beneficiaries law were taken and were well-received by the public.

Despite all of these shifts, it proved impossible to bring Republicans with any kind of legislative power to the table. In 2010, the GOP eked out a one-seat majority in the House at the crest of the "GOP wave." That GOP majority proceeded to kill the civil unions bill both years they controlled the chamber, the second time in a highly controversial use of legislative procedure to shut down debate on the bill before it could pass–which it would have, with a few moderate Republicans voting for it.

The 2012 civil unions debacle was a significant factor in the sweeping loss of the Colorado House to Democrats that fall. In addition to being widely publicized and used against key swing-seat legislators, the incident galvanized wealthy LGBT donors in support of retaking the Colorado House, in a way they almost certainly would not have had the bill been allowed to pass in a GOP-held chamber. This is an important point, and conservative pro-equality groups like Coloradans for Freedom understand it: if the debate can move past basic issues of equality and discrimination, there is much more political diversity within the LGBT community than one might think.

But for now, as the Grand Junction Sentinel's Charles Ashby reports, they have missed their chance.

“What this bill is about, really, is the Bible. Is it right or wrong?” said Rep. Lori Saine, R-Dacono…

Rep. Amy Stephens, R-Colorado Springs, tried to amend the bill to send the measure to the 2015 ballot, saying voters in 2006 rejected a similar idea. That year, voters narrowly defeated Referendum I, which would have created domestic partnerships for same-sex couples.

That made Ferrandino mad.

“I’m just astounded by this,” Ferrandino shouted. “I don’t ask to put your relationships up for a vote of the people. Times have changed, but what hasn’t changed is the fact that fundamental civil rights should not be a vote of the people. It’s what we get elected to do, to make sure that we have equality under the law.”

There are, as in prior years, some Republicans who are voting yes on the Civil Union Act. But due to term limits and the loss of a key pro-civil unions GOP Senator in a nasty Republican primary–partly fought over the issue–there are actually fewer Republicans in support of the bill now then before. The argument that a 2006 election result is still binding is rendered hypocritical by the defeat of a GOP-supported anti-"Obamacare" ballot measure in 2010. You may have noticed that Republicans would still like to get rid of "Obamacare" despite this election result.

Both sides are fond of saying "elections matter." The story of civil unions in Colorado proves that better than most.