Protect the Freedom to Marry Act Passes Committee

SB25-014 would repeal unenforceable language from Colorado Statute that states that a marriage is valid only if it is between a man and a woman

DENVER, CO - Following voter approval of Amendment J, which removed language from the Colorado Constitution banning same-sex marriage, legislation seeking to make that same language change in Colorado Statute passed the Senate State, Veterans, and Military Affairs Committee today.

SB25-014, sponsored by Senators Jessie Danielson, D-Lakewood, and Sonya Jaquez Lewis, D-Longmont, would repeal the provision in Colorado Statute that states that marriage is valid only if it is between a man and a woman. That provision has been unenforceable since the United States Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v. Hodges in 2015 and is now in conflict with the State Constitution.

"The freedom to marry who we love is a fundamental right," said Danielson. "I cannot sit back and allow Coloradans to have their marriages and families put at risk. It’s especially important now, as the Trump Administration attacks the LGBTQ community, to secure everyone’s right to live safely in our state, and marry whomever they love."

"I helped lead some of the first Gay Pride marches in the South and I saw and felt discrimination and hatred then,” said Jaquez Lewis. "Sadly, I am seeing and feeling it now towards my LGBTQ community, in particular, my trans friends and family. As the only LGBTQ Senator in the state, I introduced this bill to protect the ability for any Coloradan to love who they want to love and marry who they want to marry. SB25-014 reaffirms marriage equality in our Colorado state statutes and protects the freedom to marry."

SB25-014 now heads to the Senate floor for further consideration. Track the bill’s progress HERE.