Category Archives: Civil Unions/Marriage Equality

UPDATE: FOX 31′s Eli Stokols:

Rep. Don Coram, who cast the deciding vote Monday to kill the revived civil unions bill during this week’s special legislative session, told FOX 31 Denver Wednesday that he stands behind his vote, despite criticism from his gay son…

“If you’re going to lead, you need to sometimes set aside your personal preferences and do what you were sent here to do,” Coram continued. “This situation in my district is very, very clear from the calls I had coming in that this was an issue my district didn’t support.”

But some Democrats have taken issue with his “voting my district” defense, noting that Sen. Ellen Roberts, R-Durango, who represents many of the same constituents as Coram, voted in favor of civil unions when it cleared the Senate near the end of the regular legislative session.

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9NEWS’ Kevin Torres reports, though most following the story of the killing of civil unions legislation at the hands of Colorado House Republicans are already well aware of this sidebar:

When a Republican representative from Montrose voted against the bill to legalize civil unions for same-sex couples on Monday evening, many people dubbed him the “man who killed it.” After his vote, Rep. Don Coram acknowledged he has a gay son, which prompted his son to question his father’s decision…

For most of his life, Dee Coram ignored his father’s politics and kept his distance. But when the civil unions bill popped up, Dee Coram decided to have a heart-to-heart with his father.

“He did say at that time if it goes to the floor, I will vote no. But at that time his stance was the committee should send it and let the House vote on it,” Dee Coram said… [Pols emphasis]

“He was given an opportunity here to actually be a leader and I guess he didn’t take that leadership role. It’s disappointing to see something like this that he said should have gone to a house floor for a vote. Essentially, he prevented that from happening,” Dee Coram said.

The story from 9NEWS’ Kevin Torres makes it clear that Rep. Don Coram and his openly gay son Dee Coram are still close even after this vote, and that Dee never expected his father to be a “yes” vote on final passage of civil unions. We can see where, under less politically volatile circumstances, Rep. Coram might indeed have agreed with his son that the bill deserved a vote in the full House. But with the issue exploding in the face of Republican House leadership and national media coverage, “politically volatile” became a quaint understatement.

To us, this story once again illustrates the terrible pressure that was put on “reliable” Republicans by their leadership to fall in line and ensure that the civil unions bill died by whatever means necessary. After what happened at the end of the regular session, there was no need for niceties–it’s not like Republicans could look any worse. There’s little question GOP Speaker Frank McNulty had conferred with the Republican members of the House State Affairs Committee prior to assigning the bill there, to ensure that they wouldn’t give him any surprises like Rep. B.J. Nikkel did during the regular session. The reason one is appointed to the State Affairs Committee to begin with is that leadership is confident of their loyalty.

So when the time came, Rep. Coram “did his duty”–when in different circumstances, we can’t help but think in his defense, he might have acted differently? Obviously we don’t know he would have, but the story as told by his son obligates us to leave a small window of doubt.

And if that’s how it all went down, you have to feel kind of sorry for both of them.

Full story: The Sad Story of Don and Dee Coram

(Just in time for the HD-19 primary – promoted by Colorado Pols)



Journalists, like Denver Post Editorial Page Editor Curtis Hubbard, speculated that House Majority Leader Amy Stephens’ primary fight against Rep. Marsha Looper might play a role in the fate of the civil unions bill.

Stephens would want to show voters in her El Paso County district that she’s the uncompromising conservative that she claims to be, versus Looper, who reportedly supports civil unions.

If this turned out to be true, you’d expect House Speaker Frank McNulty and Stephens to start bragging, especially in the Colorado Springs area, about how Stephens stepped up to the plate and batted away the civil-union proponents.

And that’s exactly what McNulty did on the Jeff Crank Show on KVOR Saturday. KVOR broadcasts from, you guessed it, Colorado Springs.

Reporters should take note of this exchange, as they explain what in the world happened to the civil unions bill today:

Crank said that he was hearing rumors that Stephens was for civil unions. But Crank complimented Stephens and McNulty for putting their political lives on the line to stop civil unions.

McNulty responded to Crank with this:

McNulty: “Well, thank you.  And it’s absolutely true that Amy Stephens was the rock that we came back to throughout the debate.  It wasn’t easy, and there were times when the pressure was great, when you have advocates for [civil unions] piling into the gallery, and you’re looking up there wondering what’s going to happen next.  And Amy is so strong in her faith, and is absolutely rock solid, and she just has a measure of calm about her in crisis and that’s one of the things that we relied on.  And our goal is to head into this Special Session.”

Listen to the audio clip here: McNulty On the Jeff Crank Show 5-12-2012.

Full story: Reporters should note McNulty’s view that Stephens was “the rock” against civil unions

Overall, we’ve got to call this a good outing for Gov. John Hickenlooper on CNN’s State of the Union with Candy Crowley yesterday. Beginning with a detailed and convincing round of praise for President Barack Obama and his decision last week to support same-sex marriage, Hickenlooper does a great job explaining the issues around the special session of the legislature he called, broad support for civil unions in Colorado, and as close as Hickenlooper ever gets to criticizing GOP Speaker Frank McNulty publicly.

It’s an interview that won’t lend itself to McNulty’s desired spin.

Full story: Hickenlooper Defends Special Session on CNN

Worth noting what Politico reports today:

Santorum, in an interview Thursday on Mike Huckabee’s radio show, said gay marriage is a “mobilizing factor” for voters that can’t be ignored.

“I’m hopeful that [Romney] understands the power of these issues,” Santorum said, adding that Obama’s position “should put the social issues front and center.”

Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, said Obama handed Romney and the Republican Party a gift – and both will be negligent if they don’t take advantage of it.

“The president yesterday interjected an element into this election cycle that, while some may be uncomfortable dealing with on the Republican side, could very well be a deciding factor for the election if they respond to the president’s challenge to marriage,” Perkins said. “It’s no secret the Republican leadership has not wanted to be out front waving the banner.”

Romney doesn’t need to make it the centerpiece of his campaign, Perkins said, but it should be part of his stump speech.

“The missing piece for Mitt Romney was the intensity of the core conservative voter,” Perkins said. “The president handed him that piece yesterday if he wants to take it and put it in place.”

Mitt Romney was asked on Wednesday during his brief stop in Weld County about President Barack Obama’s new position in support of gay marriage–Romney said he doesn’t agree, and went a step further to say he doesn’t even support civil unions as proposed in the Colorado legislature. Meanwhile, GOP House Speaker Frank McNulty’s response to Gov. John Hickenlooper’s call for a special session repeatedly substituted the words “gay marriage” in place of civil unions, knowing full well that the bill doesn’t tamper with the state’s constitutional definition of marriage. Of course, there are a substantial number of voters who will support “civil unions” but not “gay marriage,” helping explain McNulty’s seemingly crass deception.

Bottom line: public opinion on the matter of equality for gays and lesbians is rapidly changing, and that change is a big part of much greater Republican support for civil unions in Colorado than has ever existed before. We believe, like GOP attorney Mario Nicholais of Coloradans for Freedom believes, that this is one of several issues on which the GOP must modernize its platform or risk permanently marginalizing itself as attitudes generationally change.

But as you can see, there are powerful forces in Republican politics who don’t agree, and who will fight this moderation–regardless of the consequences. We now know McNulty is one. We’re a little less sure about Romney’s core convictions on the matter, but he’s certainly not helping himself with sweeping statements of opposition like he made here a few days ago.

In both cases, they’re making it hard for Republicans who would rather not be marginalized.

Full story: Religious Right Pressures GOP To Fight Culture War

Gov. John Hickenlooper today officially called a special legislative session, to begin on Monday, that will cover seven legislative issues that died in the House when Speaker Frank McNulty ran out the clock (full press release after the jump). Those seven issues are:

While all eyes will be on the vote to determine Special Mobile Machinery Fleets, the authorization of civil unions will probably also get some attention.

DENVER ­- Thursday, May 10, 2012 – Gov. John Hickenlooper today called the General Assembly to meet in special session beginning Monday to consider seven legislative issues the Colorado House of Representatives failed to act on earlier this week.

“Much of this legislation had significant bipartisan support and addressed subject matter crucial to the people of Colorado and the effective, efficient operation of state government,” Hickenlooper wrote in an Executive Order. “The ramifications of the General Assembly’s inability to take up the business of its people will negatively impact the State of Colorado and hamper its ability to serve its people. These extraordinary circumstances require a special session of the General Assembly.”

The governor’s Executive Order, by law, does not prescribe the specific form that the legislation should take; rather, it defines the appropriate subject matter for legislative consideration.

“There was good legislation that did not pass out of the General Assembly for one reason or another during the recently-concluded session,” Hickenlooper wrote. “We are limiting the agenda for this special session, however, to the subject matters of legislation that died on the Colorado House calendar on May 8, 2012, for lack of a full debate and vote on second reading, clearly had bipartisan support in the legislature, and advance good government and economic development, public safety, or other important policy objectives.”

The seven specific subjects that should be considered in the special session are:

·         Funding of Colorado Water Conservation Board projects.

·         Penalties for persons who drive while under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

·         Authorization of civil unions.

·         Administration of the unemployment insurance program to stabilize unemployment insurance rates, facilitating the issuance of unemployment revenue bonds and accelerating the creation of the Division of Unemployment Insurance in the Department of Labor and Employment.

·         Creating “benefit corporations” in Colorado.

·         Registering Special Mobile Machinery Fleets.

·         Submitting to the registered electors of the State of Colorado an amendment to the Colorado Constitution repealing provisions deemed obsolete.

The General Assembly determines how long the special session will last. The cost to taxpayers is $23,500 per day; there are 15 days already budgeted in the current fiscal year.

Full story: Details on Special Session Released

UPDATE #4: Speaker Frank McNulty responds not too happily, via Out Front Colorado:

“If the governor wants to make this special session about gay marriage, than that’s his prerogative,” McNulty said.

“It is ironic to me that the governor would choose to use his bully pulpit for the purpose of gay marriage but stand on the sidelines when families suffer, when Coloradans continue to look for work and unemployment remains too high,” he said.

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UPDATE #3: FOX 31:

A day after Colorado House Republican leaders killed a measure to legalize civil unions, Governor John Hickenlooper on Wednesday called for a special legislative session.

“We need to have an open discussion of the issue and at least work toward a final resolution,” Gov. Hickenlooper said. “We (will) allow people a chance to vote on it, and we move forward.”

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UPDATE #2: Gov. John Hickenlooper calls special session on civil unions, as well as other bills that were killed yesterday by the House GOP majority, to begin “Friday or Monday.”

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UPDATE: Multiple sources now reporting that Gov. John Hickenlooper will call a special session of the Colorado General Assembly to address civil unions. Press conference imminent.

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A few representative news stories today–Durango Herald:

Colorado’s House of Representatives suffered a stunning breakdown of order Tuesday night during a fight over civil unions for gay and lesbian couples…

The Republican leadership, which was using delay tactics to block the civil unions bill from getting a vote, lost control of the chamber when Democrats recruited two dissident Republicans to help them take over the House agenda.

Rather than give it up, Republicans put the chamber into recess at 9 p.m. Speaker of the House Frank McNulty, R-Highlands Ranch, returned more than two hours later to tell reporters that the House had reached an impasse.

The Pueblo Chieftain’s Patrick Malone:

“This is unprecedented in the history of the state of Colorado, to mess with the rules and to interrupt the integrity of the House in such a manner,” said Rep. Mark Waller, R-Colorado Springs.

The pause was in response to a power play by Democrats seeking to force a vote on the bill. With a handful of Republicans on board, the numbers were in place to compel a vote.

“We do not want to do anything to harm what this institution stands for, but at the same time, when we look at what we’re seeing from the Republican majority, we are seeing them not willing to stand up and protect the democratic process of allowing every bill to get a vote,” said Ferrandino.

And FOX 31′s Eli Stokols:

House Republicans showed signs of obstruction early on Tuesday, as members of the House Appropriations Committee stalled for hours before hearing Senate Bill 2, which was amended twice before clearing the committee.

An hour later, Democrats were joined by two Republicans, Reps. B.J. Nickel and Don Beezley in blocking the House GOP from beginning debate on a slate of bills before they’d introduced the civil unions bill…

Had Democrats been recognized, their motion would have passed with both Nikkel and Beezley voting in favor of opening debate on the civil union bill.

Instead, the recess lasted the rest of the night.

Our view: this was one of the most self-destructive political mistakes we’ve ever seen committed by any politician in a leadership role. Even if the intention of by House Speaker Frank McNulty and the House GOP majority was always to kill Senate Bill 2, the way McNulty allowed the situation to escalate out of his control, and cause so much collateral damage, was an unprecedented disaster. McNulty made a mockery of a “fair hearing,” and wrecked the defense that Democrats were responsible for this last-minute crisis by holding on to the bill in the Senate. McNulty would have taken a hit from the right for losing when Democrats and dissident Republican had him procedurally outmaneuvered, and they did have him–but not nearly the criticism from all sides he’ll suffer for shutting down the House to prevent this vote.

This time we think there may really be a price, folks. Republicans are going to lose seats in the legislature over this debacle, meaning it’s a good bet we’ll be looking back at this as a major factor in the loss of the GOP’s one-seat House majority in November–perhaps as important as the GOP’s reapportionment defeat itself. And McNulty is the leadership equivalent of a dead man walking now, even in the unlikely event that the GOP keeps the House.

On the upside, Marsha Looper can’t use civil unions against Amy Stephens! But we doubt when this is over that anyone other than Stephens will think this was worth what it’s going to cost.

“Civil unions will pass,” [Coloradans for Freedom spokesman and GOP attorney Mario] Nicolais said. “And so will the Republican House majority.”

Full story: Civil Unions Post-Mortem Interrupted By Hickenlooper

UPDATE 1:20 PM: Hickenlooper WILL call a special session including civil unions, according to reliable sources including Eli Stokols and Lynn Bartels. Details from the Governlooper’s office at 1:45 PM MST.

I don’t get to go home until I’ve completed my work each day. I certainly don’t get a months-long holiday to work on improving my job security and future career prospects when my job isn’t done. Do you?

I’d wager that most Coloradans would get a pink slip, not a vacation, if they came to work and kept the entire staff waiting for them until nearly midnight, then simply walked off the job, leaving critical work undone. But if Governor Hickenlooper doesn’t act now, Speaker McNulty will get to go home to campaign and fundraise, having killed more than 30 bills just to prevent the Colorado House from granting something resembling equal rights to same-sex couples and opposite-sex couples who prefer civil unions over marriage.

McNulty is leaving his job undone, when 62% of Coloradans and a bipartisan coalition of legislators supported SB2. McNulty proposes to walk off the job and spend the next few months focusing on his reelection, without allowing the House to vote on a bill that passed the Colorado Senate and was supported by no less than three House committees. We can give him the pink slip in November, but first, we have a chance to send him back to his desk right now.

What you can do to keep McNulty at work until his job is done, after the jump:

1. Write to Governor Hickenlooper here. Tell him you’re a Colorado voter calling on the Governor to keep the Colorado House at work until SB 12-0002 has passed or failed by an up-or-down vote of the full House.

2. Call him at (303)-866-2471 and tell him the same thing.

3. Write a letter to the largest Denver paper calling on Governor Hickenlooper to call a special legislative session to prevent Speaker McNulty from singlehandedly circumventing the democratic process, leaving his job undone, and returning home to campaign and fundraise.

4. Write and call your state legislator (find them here and tell them, “I’m a constituent, and I don’t want to see my state representatives at home campaigning and fundraising until they’ve voted on civil unions. Please ask Governor Hickenlooper to let you do your job in a special legislative session.” (In your own words, of course.)

We have a chance to make history. Frank McNulty has already secured his place there, right next to Howard Smith, who in 1963 delayed the Civil Rights Act by refusing to grant it a rule. Even though he was obviously fighting a losing battle, Smith let minorities suffer for an extra year to serve his own ego. McNulty wants to do the same–let’s not let him. Colorado’s place in history is with all those over the centuries who have stood up and said, “Enough!” to politicians whose hubris endangered the institution of democracy.

Let’s do this thing.

Full story: Call on Governor Hickenlooper to Keep Frank McNulty At Work Until His Job Is Done

UPDATE 11:10PM: House galleries erupt in anger, are reportedly cleared as Speaker Frank McNulty pronounces the death of Senate Bill 2 along with dozens of other bills.

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UPDATE 11:00PM: As of this writing, the House is in recess after an hours-long standoff between GOP House leadership and proponents of civil unions legislation. If the House does not reconvene before midnight, Senate Bill 2 along with fully 30 other pieces of legislation will die.

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UPDATE 5:15PM: Senate Bill 2 passes House Appropriations Committee on a 7-6 vote with GOP Rep. Cheri Gerou joining Democrats in favor. All eyes turn to the House floor.

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UPDATE 11:30AM: Senate Bill 2 is set to debated in the House Appropriations Committee this afternoon. As of this writing, the bill remains on track for passage.

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Briefly updating what has become the biggest political story in Colorado, which you’re all following through your choice of social or traditional media–FOX 31′s Chris Jose:

In order to survive, the bill must be heard by a house committee Tuesday … that way the bill could be voted on Wednesday … which is the last day of the legislative session.

A rally for civil unions will take place later Tuesday morning at the state Capitol.

That rally is scheduled for 10 a.m. The idea is to put pressure on state lawmakers to get this bill on the house floor.

It has already cleared some big hurdles, but it appears the Republican majority in the house … is not in any rush to get this done.

AP’s Ivan Moreno restates the GOP’s counterclaim:

“To me the Democrats have done both the proponents of this bill and opponents of this bill a great disservice by politicizing it,” [Speaker Frank McNulty] said. “We all know that it’s a heated public policy issue to begin with and with the Senate Democrats sitting on it for 110 days, they’ve really turned it into a manufactured crisis here at the end of session.”

Rep. Mark Ferrandino, the Democrats’ leader in the House and a gay lawmaker sponsoring the bill there, disagreed with McNulty, saying the reason the bill took so long in the Senate is because supporters were trying to get Republican support. Ferrandino said he tried to persuade a Republican to carry the legislation in the House, and potential supporters said they needed more time.

“The manufactured crisis is one he’s manufacturing,” Ferrandino said of McNulty.

Yesterday, the Denver paper’s editorial board called for a special session of the legislature in the event that Senate Bill 2 does not receive a final vote in the House before the legislative session must end at midnight Wednesday. Gov. John Hickenlooper’s office reportedly answered that this is “premature” to consider, and they expect SB-2 to pass. But Republicans in charge of the process, principally House Speaker Frank McNulty and House Appropriations Committee chair Rep. Jon Becker, are not inspiring confidence that will happen.

Lynn Bartels quotes GOP analyst Katy Atkinson today conceding that this is a “win-win situation” for Democrats, who either get a major legislative victory, or a potent issue for the elections this November. The amount of GOP support that has already been demonstrated for SB-2, reflective of overwhelming public support, severely undermines the credibility of McNulty’s process-based excuses. In short, he’s upset that the bill was timed to actually pass it. To not be ingloriously killed in partisan crossfire like so many other bills this session.

That’s what smart legislators do. They align the stars. They make the intransigent pay a price.

And folks, today is the day when Frank McNulty will show how smart he is.

Full story: McNulty, GOP Backed Into Corner on Civil Unions