Last summer, I wrote a piece that criticized some of Colorado's gay-friendly political groups for targeting state legislature races in the election. Not that, as Jerry Seinfeld might have said, there was anything wrong with that, but it appeared to me that the presidential election and the significant role Colorado might have played in the election's outcome seemed to be a lesser priority for them.
Turns out, I was wrong.
Those state legislative seats that were targeted after last fall's civil unions debacle flipped to the Democrats. Obama won, handily, in Colorado and pretty much everywhere else, too.
That's the type of wrong I always hope to be.
As an added bonus, the four state measures from around the nation regarding marriage equality all fell to our side, too, as Washington, Maine, and Maryland will now allow same-sex marriage, while Minnesota politely declined a constitutional amendment limiting marriage to heteros only.
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| Rep. Mark Ferrandino |
To make matters even better, Colorado Democrats named openly-gay Rep. Mark Ferrandino to the Speaker of the House position. Most of us who followed the 2011 civil unions fight remember him for his valiant efforts as he pulled out all the stops to try to gain equal rights for Colorado's LGBT population.
With election results like this, Colorado's gays have learned that we can have our cock and eat it, too.
The Denver Post has reported that the civil unions bill will likely be reintroduced and passed into law quickly once the session begins next year.
But should it?
As recently as early November, a Denver Post poll indicated that the majority of Colorado's voters support same-sex marriage over civil unions.
So the question we need to ask is pretty simple, in light of all of the political victories this past election, should Colorado's LGBT population settle for civil unions?
New York created the template for using the state legislature to pass gay marriage. Considering that we have statewide support for marriage equality, and gay-friendly Democrats now in control of the house, senate, and governor's mansion, not to mention all of the momentum from the last election, why shouldn't Colorado be asking for gay marriage too?
Sure, civil unions were a good compromise last year when we needed every vote possible in the Republican-controlled house, but that's no longer the case. Civil unions are like getting socks for a Christmas present. Sure you're grateful, and yeah, you'll wear them, but there's no denying that you want something better.
I, for one, want to marry my husband of almost ten years. The word "marry" is important to us. I'm not the first one to feel this way, but I don't want to look my husband in the eye and ask him to enter into a civil union with me. I want to marry him.
So I hope, before our state legislature convenes for the first time, that Colorado's political groups sit down with those of us in the LGBT community who helped to elect them and discuss whether or not civil unions are what we really want.
In my mind, now is the time for us to cash in some of our political clout and ask for full marriage rights. Purple state Colorado won't stay all blue for long. My fear is that passing civil unions now might saddle Colorado's LGBT population with a separate-but-equal status for untold years to come.
Of course, then again, I could be wrong.
