A Republican state representative may have befuddled some in her conservative region after she voted "yes" on Colorado's civil unions bill.
Rep. Carole Murray represents Colorado's District 45 -- a Republican friendly region sandwiched between Denver and Colorado Springs -- and she has a conservative voting record to match.
Just how conservative? As Murray says, "There's not a gun that I don't love."
So her vote Thursday in support of Colorado's Senate Bill 11, which would establish civil unions in the state, came as somewhat of a surprise. She later explained her vote in an emotionally charged statement, which was captured by The Denver Post.
Responding to friends and family who asked why she risked the political heat, she says:
It's more important to me that over the next 20 years ... I'll be able to look at myself in the mirror and be proud of my public service, knowing that I've been true to my upbringing by my mom and dad of love and acceptance of my fellow man. Not to mention my Conservative belief -- my Republican belief -- in personal liberty, equality, and individual responsibility for each and every one of our citizens.
According to her website, Murray advocates the typical Republican standards of "lower taxes and limited government" in addition to her firm defense of the Second Amendment.
As the Post notes, her vote in favor of Colorado's civil unions bill mirrors what may be a larger national trend of Republican lawmakers publicly voicing support for gay marriage.
On Monday, The New York Times reported on a document that several dozen prominent GOP members submitted to the Supreme Court, advocating the repeal of California's Proposition 8, which banned gay marriage in the state in 2008.
Read more about Murray and the civil unions bill at The Denver Post.
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