This will be a pivotal year for Colorado's laws concerning marriage and the family.

The fall election will determine what direction we will take as a state for many years to come.

We have had a defense of marriage act in our statutes for several years which defines marriage as being between one man and one woman, but the legislature is now trying to radically change that.

HB 1344 will put on the ballot the question of establishing same-sex civil unions in Colorado. We will probably also have a basic marriage amendment on the ballot, defining marriage as being between one man and one woman, but it is silent on the subject of civil unions.

I have, therefore, began the effort to put on the ballot, through a citizen's initiative, the question of constitutionally preventing civil unions from being recognized in Colorado. For more information on this issue, please go to the website: www.ProtectingColoradoChildren.org.

This is a serious question that the people of Colorado will decide this fall. Please become an active part of this debate and decision.