Conservative Rep. Carole Murray stunned and delighted gay activists this week when she voted for a civil unions bill, but first she came to the defense of a fellow Douglas County Republican.
Former House Speaker Frank McNulty speaking to reporters the night a civil unions bill died last year after it failed to come up for debate.
Murray said former Speaker Frank McNulty did nothing wrong and broke no rules last year when he refused to call up a civil unions bill for debate, causing the measure to die a dramatic death on the House floor. Several witnesses testifying on Senate Bill 11 criticized what happened.
“I’d like to stop that spin that somehow something was wrong the way things were handled last year,” she told the House Judiciary Committee and a packed hearing room Thursday. “I was entirely in support of Speaker McNulty at the time.”
Murray, a Castle Rock lawmaker, said every party that is in the majority uses the rules to their advantage. At the time, the GOP controlled the House 33-32. After the November elections, Democrats control it 37-28.
McNulty today was asked by the Denver Post about the bill last year, Murray’s vote and how their very conservative county might react and his place in history on civil unions. In the process, he managed a favorite: criticizing Democrats for not focusing on jobs and the economy.