Civil Unions

To our friends and allies:

So many of our communications reflect the organizational voice of Citizens Project.

Today, in the aftermath of last night’s debacle at the State Capitol, I want to reflect my own voice.

Civil Unions, SB-2, had enough votes and deserved a full hearing by the Colorado House of Representatives. But it never made it to the house floor, because of a filibuster. And several other important bills died with it as a result.

Those are the mechanics of what happened, and that’s what died last night.

But the true story is deeply personal, and much more prevails than was lost.

Through this legislative session, we saw heroes. Organizational leaders stepping up to support full equality for our LGBT community: One Colorado, Inside/Out, PFLAG, Pride Centers across the state, Inter-religious groups, and countless others.  We saw individuals and families champion the bill, sometimes revisiting and exposing their own wounds, their own pain, to create understanding. We saw brave allies in the legislature: Pat Steadman, B.J. Nikkel, and many, many more, who sought to give all committed couples the right to love and live together with basic legal protections.

We saw communities coming together, and we saw a flame, a passion for change, that cannot be filibustered or extinguished.

Hope prevails. Courage prevails. Solidarity prevails.

Love prevails.

That’s the true story, and our commitment to full equality cannot be eradicated by anyone without our consent. We will not sit still. We will stand down threats to equal and civil rights, threats to religious freedom, and threats to democracy.

We will do it together, and we will not stop until our work is done.

Thank you for the humbling opportunity to be a part of creating that change.