Colorado Civil Union Act Signing Today

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by: Colorado Pols

UPDATE #2: A message from Gov. John Hickenlooper to LGBT advocacy group One Colorado supporters:

Just moments ago, I had the incredible honor of signing civil unions into law.

It was a historic moment for Colorado, which now joins a tide of hope sweeping the nation that affirms all couples should have the protections they need to care for each other and their families…

Today, we should all take a moment to reflect on the critical progress we have made, as well as the powerful difference it will make in the lives of thousands of families across our wonderful state.

Congratulations, and thank you for making Colorado a better place for each and every one of us.

—–

UPDATE: The photo for the history books, courtesy One Colorado:

Via 9NEWS' Brandon Rittiman, they've got the certificates ready, though May 1st is still a few weeks away:

If you're interested in witnessing a bit of Colorado history, you can head to, appropriately enough, the Colorado History Museum at 3:15PM today for the signing of Senate Bill 11 into law by Gov. John Hickenlooper:

Democratic Governor John Hickenlooper is expected to sign the civil unions bill at 3:15 p.m. Thursday at the History Colorado Center.

After a three-year fight pushing for civil unions, Senate Bill 11 won final passage earlier this month on a 39-26 House vote with two Republicans joining the Democrats…

The bill marks a significant shift in a state where, just seven years ago, a constitutional amendment was passed to ban gay marriage. Colorado now joins three other states — Illinois, Delaware, and Hawaii — as a state that has both a gay marriage ban and a statute allowing for civil unions.

We'll update with coverage and statements afterward.

8 thoughts on “Colorado Civil Union Act Signing Today”

Aristotle says:

March 21, 2013 at 2:05 pm

A beautiful day for Colorado. If only we didn't have that fucking amendment in the state constitution, but nobody will have to put their lives on hold while we take care of that.

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1. Urban Snowshoer says:
  
  March 21, 2013 at 9:14 pm
  
  Are the homophobes going to try to challenge civil unions as being in conflict with said amendment, thus unconstitutional?
  
  I don't know the answer to the question but I am curious.
  
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DavidThi808 says:

March 21, 2013 at 4:08 pm

Or as my mom would say – it's about time Colorado caught up to Hawaii.

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DaftPunk says:

March 21, 2013 at 5:10 pm

What a great smile on Senator Steadman's face. Too bad this came too late for him to personally benefit. RIP Dave.

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1. GalapagoLarry says:
  
  March 21, 2013 at 7:47 pm
  
  Beautiful human being, beautiful smile. Bittersweet feeling about it. Whenever I feel that achieving civil unions is a giant waste of political energy I'm reminded that each and every advance is at least that: an advance.
  
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notaskinnycook says:

March 21, 2013 at 11:47 pm

Reading Sen. Steadman's remarks today caused me to wonder whether the people who dreamed up that vile law (Amendment 2) ever imagined it would lead here? I remember that night well and got a lot of odd looks from friends when I answered infuriated friends with "You'll see. They did us the biggest favor possible. They've awakened a sleeping giant." The anger spawned that night propelled us through Romer v Evans and Lawrence v Texas and will carry us through Perry v Swartzenegger and Windsor v US. If they knew of the fuse they would light, I wonder if Colorado for Family Values would have left well enough alone? We really owe them a debt of gratitude. The victory is sweetened by the knowlege that that thought would drive them all nuts.

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ArapaGOP says:

March 22, 2013 at 12:00 pm

What makes me happy? Over 70 days into the session, Democrats are finally working on their so-called "jobs" bills.

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1. RedGreen says:
  
  March 22, 2013 at 3:20 pm
  
  You don't think event centers, caterers, printers and florists look at this as a jobs bill?
  
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