Rep. Don Coram's Son Tells Media: 'He Was Given A Time To Lead' On Civil Unions Bill 'And He Didn't Do It'
Rep. Don Coram
(via HuffPost Gay Voices)
Before voting “no” on the civil unions bill, Rep. Don Coram, R-Montrose, told the room “I am the very proud father of one son, who happens to be gay.”
In the days that followed, Rep. Coram and his son have been put under the media’s microscope to discuss the bill’s death and the fact that it came at the hands of someone who also could have been likely to vote yes.
Dee Coram, Don’s son, told 9News that his father told him if the bill made it to the House floor he would vote no, but that he did support the bill moving to the floor.
The bill died on a 5-4 party line vote in a committee widely referred to as House Speaker Frank McNulty’s (R-Highlands Ranch) “kill committee.”
Over the course of two hours of testimony, Rep. Coram once asked about the word “spouse” in the bill and cited a dictionary that defined the word as a marriage between a man and a woman. Coram later said in an interview with 5280 that he tends to support civil unions but is not in favor of same-sex marriage, which is how he interpreted the bill.
“I wouldn’t have had a problem with this, not at all, if this bill didn’t use the word ‘spouse,’” Rep. Coram told the magazine. “I’ve asked the questions many times in my district: Do you support civil unions? The answer is yes. Then I ask if they support gay marriage. The answer is overwhelmingly no. This was a same-sex-marriage bill.”
Reached by phone, House Minority Leader Mark Ferrandino told The Huffington Post that he considers disagreement over the word “spouse” simply an excuse to not vote for the bill.
Click here for the full article.
Comments
Category: News
Subscribe
If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to receive more just like it.
