Colorado rejects legal clarification for same-sex unions

Colorado won’t address some legal questions about same-sex unions until there’s a ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court on gay marriage.

A Republican-controlled Senate committee voted 3-2 Wednesday to reject a bill clarifying aspects of Colorado’s civil-unions law.

Colorado has a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage. But the ban is on hold pending a ruling from the nation’s high court.

In the meantime, a Democrat proposed updating Colorado law to clarify the legal standing of people in civil unions. The measure by Sen. Pat Steadman would have answered nuts-and-bolts questions for people in civil unions, such as whether their union counts toward the length of a marriage if they choose to marry.

Republicans control the committee and rejected the measure without comment.