by Tracy Chamberlin

Last week, the Rocky Mountain state became the ninth in the nation to allow for civil unions or recognize same-sex marriage with the Colorado Civil Unions Act, signed into law on March 21.

“We’re all very excited,” said Barbara Balaguer Blundell, board president of 4cGLAD, the Four Corners Gay and Lesbian Alliance for Diversity. “We see this as a positive and necessary stepping stone toward full marriage equality.”

The law, which takes effect May 1, passed the state Senate on a 21-14 vote and the House of Representatives, 39-26. Many supporters of the bill celebrated at the Capitol on the day of its passing, the day the governor signed it into law, and every day since.  

Martha Elbert, president of the local chapter of PFLAG, said her initial reaction was gratitude – to the legislators, governor and members of the Colorado coalition of PFLAG, aka Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays.

Get the answers For questions and answers about the new law, including application forms, visit www.one-colorado.org/your-rights/civil-unions Other local resources: 4cGLAD organization - 4cglad.wordpress.com Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays organization - community.pflag.org

“Mostly, to gay and lesbian couples whose steadfast love was the most compelling argument for bringing the law in line with reality,” she added.
It was not a quick trip down the aisle, however, for those supporters. For the past few years lawmakers have attempted to bring a civil union bill before the governor, but with party politics taking center stage they never made it to a full vote in either house.

Then the elections in November changed the political makeup of the state Capitol, and Colorado watched its first openly gay leader become Speaker of the House, Rep. Mark Ferrandino (D-Denver).

Although the Democratic majorities in the state house and senate were principal to passing the Civil Unions Act, it was not a party-line vote. Several Republicans joined in, including Sen. Ellen Roberts from Durango, who supported similar legislation in 2011 and 2012.

One of the reasons legislators went with the idea of civil unions rather than same-sex marriage was Amendment 43 to the Colorado Constitution, titled the Definition of Marriage, which defines marriage as being between one man and one woman.

Voters approved that ballot measure in 2006 with 55 percent supporting and 45 percent opposing it, essentially banning same-sex marriage in the Rocky Mountain state.

At this point, 31 states have passed similar bans. Most recently, North Carolina voters passed a ban on same-sex marriage in November.
“I think for a long time this cause has been challenged because of a conflict of marriage as an institution versus marriage as a religious ceremony,” Blundell said.

She added that there is a distinction between the institution under law and the religious ceremony.

The Civil Union Act attempts to address that distinction. It includes language stating a priest, minister, rabbi or other religious official is not required to certify a civil union if it violates “his or her right to the free exercise or religion guaranteed by the first amendment to the United States Constitution and by (Amendment 43) of the State Constitution.”

In many ways though, a civil union certificate is much the same as a marriage certificate.

La Plata County residents must apply for it at the County Clerk’s Office. They must pay a fee, most of which goes to the Colorado Domestic Abuse Program. And, they must sign and return the certificate within a specified time, usually about two months.

One thing it is not as specific about involves children. The act does allow for one partner to adopt the child of another partner, but some fear it leaves room to discriminate against same-sex couples looking to adopt a child together.

“That serves neither the couples being turned down due to ignorant bias nor the children who lose out on a loving, supportive home,” Elbert said.
The civil union certificate is available to both same and different sex couples, and offers some of the protections afforded married couples.

Individuals who enter into a civil union will be able to make medical care and treatment decisions, visit a partner in the hospital or have the ability to insure a partner.

The couple is guaranteed the right to inherit real and personal property, be eligible for family leave benefits and survivor benefits from worker compensation claims and local government pensions. They can also legally separate or dissolve the civil union, much like a divorce.

One of the biggest differences is how the couple is perceived by the federal government.

“While there are benefits to passing this in Colorado,” Blundell said, “it still leaves inequality at the federal level.”

Tax benefits and federal health benefits are just some of the advantages of marriage. Many in the LGBT community consider same-sex marriage a civil rights issue, and plan to continue working toward what they call marriage equality.

The next step, according to Elbert, “would be to allow everyone the same union under the law.”

Civil unions in Colorado have only two pathways toward that next step: voters or the Supreme Court.

First, any changes to the State Constitution can only come from the voters. If Amendment 43 is to bemodified so that marriage can be allowed between same-sex couples rather than defined as one woman and one man, it will have to be on the ballot.

Then there’s the high court. Just as Gov. John Hickenlooper was signing the Civil Unions Act into law, lawyers in Washington were getting ready to argue the issue before the U.S. Supreme Court in two separate cases.

One case takes on the validity of Proposition 8 in California; the other the federal Defense of Marriage Act. The court could rule in a variety of ways. One of those could be to rule same-sex marriage a constitutional right in the United States, thus invalidating same-sex marriage bans across the country, including in Colorado.

No matter how the justices rule, the debate that has been at the forefront of American politics since Massachusetts became the first state to issue same-sex marriage licenses in 2004 will likely continue.