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Observers said a Colorado bill endorsed by James Dobson partly as a way to head off civil-union benefits for homosexual couples is all but dead.

Three state Democrats on February 27 voted against the measure in a Senate committee, harming its chances of being brought up again. However, the state chapter of the Christian Coalition and an anti-gay organization also opposed the legislation.

The Senate bill would have made it easier for all unmarried couples living in the same household to obtain a variety of benefits, such as visiting a loved one in a hospital, transferring property, and securing health-care coverage.

Gay-rights organizations, though expressing neutrality toward the bill, are fighting for a more expansive proposal. Funded largely by Tim Gill, founder of Quark Inc., the maker of page-layout software, they support a domestic partnership benefits measure in the Colorado House of Representatives.

The House bill would allow homosexual couples to adopt a partner's children, file a wrongful-death claim for a partner, and inherit a partner's property. If approved by the General Assembly, the measure would go before state voters in November.

In response, Dobson, founder and chairman of the Colorado Springs-based Focus on the Family, backed the Senate bill, calling it a "common-sense alternative" to civil unions.

Jim Pfaff, state policy analyst for Focus, said "there were some state Democrats we thought could be peeled off" to forestall the domestic partnership bill.

Dobson's endorsement was denounced by Paul Cameron, founder of the Family Research Institute. Cameron referred to the bill as "gay marriage-lite" and urged Dobson to "reconsider his gay rights positions."

Dobson's stance appeared to have support from fellow evangelicals. David Hill, a Republican consultant based in Houston, said, "Most evangelicals, let alone most Americans, don't want to be harsh or punitive toward homosexuals, but they don't want to create new sets of rights. … "They don't want to go down the slippery slope."

Legislatively, however, the issue may play differently. Republican State Senator Shawn Mitchell, the Senate bill sponsor, said that his office received 10 to 15 angry phone messages after the state chapter of the Christian Coalition sent out a flier opposing the bill. The incident, he said, makes him question "whether there is a constituency for pragmatic social conservatism."

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A version of the bill is available in .PDF from the Colorado General Assembly.

An article from Focus on the Family's Citizen Link explains Dobson's support for the bill. He also went on the air to defend himself against Cameron's criticism.

Dobson also explained himself on Fox New's The O'Reilly Factor.

News elsewhere includes:

Dobson deflects heat on expanded rights | Focus founder explains bill support (The Denver Post, February 17, 2006)

Friends with Benefits | Shaking up the marriage debate in Colorado. (Ramesh Ponnuru, National Review Online, February 16, 2006)

Colorado eyes rival referendums | Voters in Colorado could become the first in the nation to have two marriage-related initiatives on the same ballot—one affirming traditional marriage and the other establishing domestic partnerships for homosexual couples. (Washington Times, February 13, 2006)

New bill adds to gay marriage debate | GOP senator says measure covers broad range of relationships (Rocky Mountain News, February 1, 2006)

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March (Web-only) 2006, Vol. 50