February 24, 2009 9:08 AM

Senate passes gay partner benefits bill

The Senate gave final and official approval to a bill that would extend health care benefits to the partners of gay and lesbian state employees.
Senate Bill 88 passed on a 22-12-1 vote and now goes to the House.
Today's vote follows a debate Monday where one Republican lawmaker quoted the Bible and equated homosexuality as a sin on par with murder.
Sen. Jennifer Veiga, D-Denver, said her bill is a matter of fairness and equality. She was the first openly gay lawmaker in the legislature.
The Senate actually took two votes, because Sen. Shawn Mitchell, R-Broomfield, was tardy and wanted to be able to vote against the measure.
Mitchell blamed bad traffic for his lateness. "I left at the same time as I usually do," he said.
The two Republicans who joined Democrats in passing the measure were Ken Kester of Las Animas and Al White of Hayden.

Posted by Lynn Bartels at 9:08 AM | Comments (0)