Why is the Colorado General Assembly considering a new Civil Unions bill and not same-sex marriage?
Because voters amended the Constitution of the State of Colorado in 2006 to bar marriage and common law marriage between same sex partners, and also to bar the recognition of such marriages from other jurisdictions. There is currently no legal remedy in Colorado for such spouses who need to divorce or legally separate.
The Civil Unions bill (SB13 - 011) does the next best thing: it applies all the rights, duties, and privileges of spouses that are already set forth in the law to parties to a civil union, without restating them. It sets up licensing and creates a new "Certificate of Civil Union". It adds "parties to a civil union" next to "spouses" in statutes about death, inheritance, probate, custodianship and guardianship, adoption, insurance, Workers Comp, hospital visitation privileges, mental health and commitment, and on and on. Very comprehensive.
It remains to be seen whether this bill will pass in its current form. For now, I have a few comments about the bill.
1. A civil union is available to any two consenting adults (who are not married, a designated beneficiary, or a party to another civil union), "regardless of gender". Therefore it is an alternative to marriage for everyone. Will opposite sex couples choose it?
2. A same sex married couple with a valid marriage in another state would be deemed "parties to a civil union" in Colorado under this bill, and therefore have access to dissolution, legal separation, or declaration of invalidity (annulment) just as a married couple would. Thus they would have a valid "marriage" license, plus a "decree of dissolution of civil union". It's awkward.
3. Since the Colorado income tax is tied to the Federal income tax return, the federal Defense of Marriage Act ("DOMA") prevents same sex couples, and presumably opposite sex parties to a civil union too, from filing as joint taxpayers. Until DOMA is repealed, or found unconstitutional, parties to a civil union would not be able to receive the tax (or any other federal) benefits of marriage.
We will see shortly where the General Assembly goes with all this.
