Civil Unions Now Recognized in Colorado

Same-sex couples took part in civil union ceremonies last night

Hundreds of Colorado gay and lesbian couples put an official government seal on their relationships in the early hours of Wednesday morning, after the state's civil-unions law took effect.

Shortly after midnight, whoops and cheers rang off the glassy interior of Denver's Wellington E. Webb Building and then again and again when each new set of 10 numbers flashed on a television monitor near the Clerk and Record's office, summoning the next in line to come apply for a license. With paperwork in hand, the couples returned to the atrium to exchange vows.