Same-Sex Unions Bill Shows Stakes for Obama in Colorado

The defeat of a same-sex civil unions bill in Colorado shows how Democrats will try to use rising support for gay couples’ rights to help President Barack Obama win the battleground state and its nine electoral votes in November.

Governor John Hickenlooper, a first-term Democrat, called a special legislative session this week forcing Republicans, who had killed the bill once before, to do it again in the glare of more publicity. The measure would have permitted same-sex couples to inherit each other’s property, take family leave and make medical end-of-life decisions for one another.