“Human history has shown us that the most important institution is not government, it’s the family. And the family is a heterosexual couple raising and rearing children. I believe this [law] is not a small change or a refinement to the concept of marriage, I believe this is a distinct step away from what marriage is and does not serve our culture or our state.”For background, read Catholic Adoptions Closed by Illinois Civil Unions Law and also read Homosexualists' Action Terminates DC Foster Care as well as Court Says San Francisco Right to Condemn Catholic Church over Gay Adoption
-- Colorado State Sen. Kevin Lundberg
And read about the Colorado baker and myriad other Christians sued in states with same-sex unions/marriage laws.
UPDATE 3/22/13: Gov. signs civil unions into law
UPDATE 2/11/13: Colorado Democrat Senator Says Christians Belong in Monastery
-- From "As expected, Senate committee passes Colorado civil unions bill" by Lynn Bartels, The Denver Post 1/24/13
A Senate committee on Wednesday passed a bill allowing gay couples to form civil unions despite protests it violates religious freedoms and overrides the will of Coloradans.
The outcome of civil unions this session is not in doubt: Democrats control the Senate, House and the governor's mansion. But that didn't stop a string of witnesses from testifying for more than four hours, urging the bill's passage or its death.
Kellie Fiedorek with the Alliance Defending Freedom said the bill "fails to provide significant safeguards for the religious liberties of all Coloradans."
Carrie Gordon Earll with CitizenLink, an arm of Focus on the Family, said the bill isn't about benefits, but about moving toward redefining marriage.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Colorado is one step closer to civil unions" by Greg Campbell, Daily Caller 1/24/13
Similar bills failed during the past two legislative sessions. The most recent attempt was defeated in dramatic 11th-hour fashion last spring, when Republicans who controlled the House didn’t bring the bill up for a vote before the session ended.
Two openly gay senators and two openly gay representatives are sponsoring the bill. The acting chairman of the Senate judiciary committee, which heard testimony from dozens of people on both sides of the issue, is also gay.
[In testimony, President and CEO of Catholic Charities of Central Colorado, Mark] Rohlena was concerned about the major difference between this year’s bill and the one from last year. The current version no longer includes a provision exempting adoption agencies that disagree with civil unions from placing children with same-sex couples. Catholic Charities, Rohlena said, only arranges adoptions to opposite sex couples who are married.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "At rally, 'Pro-marriage' supporters offer alternative view of civil unions" by Eli Stokols, KDVR-TV31 (Denver) 1/26/13
At a “pro-marriage” rally on the Capitol’s west steps Friday, opponents of civil unions legislation that would grant same-sex couples equal protection under the law denounced it as “bigoted” and “hatred.”
Another speaker argued that the measure actually “persecutes” the religious.
Why isn’t the [religious] exemption for adoption agencies in the bill this year?
Because Democrats, who found it discriminatory, won the election and no longer have to worry about securing Republican votes.
Pretty simple, really.
To read the entire opinion column above, CLICK HERE.
From "Controversial civil unions bill clears first hurdle in committee" by Ernest Luning, The Colorado Statesman 1/25/13
. . . this time the legislation faces a less uncertain fate and is expected to land on Gov. John Hickenlooper’s desk in March.
As in its two previous hearings before the committee, a cavalcade of supporters and opponents trooped before lawmakers, some waving Bibles and others brandishing stories about their commitment to committed couples, whether gay or straight.
“This to me is a bullying bill against those of us who believe in God’s teaching on homosexual behavior,” said Rosina Kovar, who gained notoriety and brief Internet fame two years ago with explicit testimony about bodily functions.
“This is a discrimination against their religious values. It’s a judgment call on the part of the state to say we will force them to participate in what they consider to be morally wrong,” [State Sen. Kevin Lundberg, R-Berthoud] said, predicting lawsuits will ensue if the bill is adopted.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Catholics criticize Colorado Civil Union Bill" by Catholic League for Religious and Civil rights 1/25/13
Far and away the biggest problem for the Catholic community, and for the rights of other faith communities, is the matter of religious liberty. To demand that Catholic adoptive agencies place children in a household of two adults of the same sex is to eviscerate their Catholicity. There is no getting around it.
It is not without meaning that Senate Bill 11 explicitly says, “A priest, minister, rabbi or other official of a religious institution or denomination or an Indian nation or tribe is not required to certify a civil union in violation of his or her right to free exercise of religion.” So if the sponsors of the bill recognize the religious liberty implications of forcing the clergy to give their blessings to homosexual unions, they should also recognize the religious liberty implications of forcing religious social service agencies to give their blessings to such arrangements. To offer one exemption but not the other is illogical and unconstitutional.
To read the entire opinion column above, CLICK HERE.
From "Colo. Civil-Unions Bill Could Endanger Catholic Child Services" by Kevin J. Jones, Catholic News Agency 1/22/13
If the legislation passes this year, civil unions for two people of any sex would be legally equivalent to marriage under state law. The 2012 Colorado Senate bill proposing to create the unions had stated that the bill “shall not be interpreted to require a child-placement agency to place a child for adoption” with a couple in a civil union.
That language, however, is absent from the 2013 bill, S.B. 11.
[Mark Rohlena, president and CEO of Catholic Charities of Central Colorado, said] “we probably would cease the operation of our adoption programs [due to this law].”
Rohlena said the Colorado state Constitution, like Catholic teaching, defines marriage as only between a man and a woman. He said this recognizes “the importance of that traditional marriage relationship for stability and advancement in society.”
Colorado has become a center for homosexual-activist groups, and several influential multimillionaires have supported these causes. In 2008, software entrepreneur Tim Gill told the LGBT Caucus at the Democratic National Convention in Denver that they should specifically concentrate donations on state legislatures and primary races to shift politics in their favor and to block potential rivals from rising to higher office.
In April 2011, Gill’s lawyer, Ted Trimpa, told Denver’s Fox 31 News that Gill could spend as much as $2 million in 2012 Colorado political races to shift the state House to Democrat control.
The Democrats took control of the Colorado House in the 2012 elections and elected Rep. Mark Ferrandino as the first gay Speaker of the House. He is co-sponsoring the bill with Sen. Pat Steadman.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
