Colorado #civilunions bill killed along with 30 others in late-night game of political chicken: http://t.co/zq0by13L
— Dan Petty (@danielpetty) May 9, 2012
North Carolina wasn’t the only state grappling with the gay marriage issue tonight.
KDVR-TV reporter Eli Stokols, Denver Post political reporter Lynn Bartels, and others live-tweeted late tonight as Democratic Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, state GOP leaders, and the rest of the Colorado legislature came to an insurmountable impasse on a hotly-contested civil unions bill — along with dozens of other bills:
Hickenlooper & McNulty have finished their chat. Not much optimism now about ending stalemate, salvaging #civilunions, other bills #COleg
— Eli Stokols (@EliStokols) May 9, 2012
Ferrandino back on floor, but not much has changed. 75 minutes left before #civilunions, everything else is dead. #COleg
— Eli Stokols (@EliStokols) May 9, 2012
Boos rain down on @RepMcNulty after he tells press "differences won't be resolved tonight." Crowd chanting "shame on you." #COleg
— Eli Stokols (@EliStokols) May 9, 2012
Stunning. List of bills that will die tonight just handed out. More than 30. #coleg
— Lynn Bartels (@lynn_bartels) May 9, 2012
House gallery boos McNulty, chants "shame on you!" #civilunions #coleg
— patrick malone (@pmalonenm) May 9, 2012
McNulty: "These things happen. It is unfortunate. But the timing is such that we are not able to work through that impasse." #coleg
— John Schroyer (@Johnschroyer) May 9, 2012
"Unfortunately, we just didn't have that Hickenlooper magic at the end," Ferrandino said. #coleg
— John Schroyer (@Johnschroyer) May 9, 2012
The story:
A bill to allow same-sex couples to form civil unions died on the calendar late Tuesday, taking down more than 30 other measures with it in a dramatic game of political chicken in which no one would blink.
When Republican Speaker Frank McNulty acknowledged there was an impasse and abruptly ended his news conference on the House floor, Coloradans watching in the gallery started chanting: “Shame on you! Shame on you!”
Everyone was kicked out of the gallery after someone yelled, “I hope you (expletive) die!”
The stunning turn of events on the second-to-last day of the 2012 session had been brewing since Thursday, when a Republican lawmaker voted with Democrats to pass the civil unions bill out of committee.
Social conservatives who believed the bill would die in the GOP-controlled Judiciary Committee for the second year in a row were enraged and lobbied McNulty and House Majority Leader Amy Stephens to use every procedure to kill Senate Bill 2.
Progressive Democrat Rep. Jared Polis is on a tear:
#fail Congrats @RepMcNulty 4 creating more dysfunction than DC, & thanx 4 assuring Dems the Speakers Gavel next term @lynn_bartels #coleg
— Jared Polis (@jaredpolis) May 9, 2012
Gov should call immediate special session for the next few days to work through their backlog of bills and get them all done #coleg
— Jared Polis (@jaredpolis) May 9, 2012
