LGBT advocates and allies took to the state Capitol on Monday for a day of lobbying in favor of proposed legislation that would legalize civil unions in Colorado, writes the Pueblo Chieftain. “We’re not looking to change the Colorado Constitution [regarding marriage],” clarifies Daneya Esgar, vice president of the Southern Colorado Equality Alliance. “We are just trying to protect ourselves.”

Focus on the Family has also been busy in recent weeks, as efforts to allow civil unions are afoot in several states. “Make no mistake. Civil union legislation is not a good compromise for protecting marriage,” the Colorado Springs-based evangelical organization writes in its CitizenLink blog. “Civil unions are only the bait required to get fair-minded people to take the hook. The big fish is same-sex marriage.”

But supporters of the bill argue civil unions are important rights that “provide Colorado couples with critical legal protections and responsibilities,” such as access to health-insurance coverage and the ability to be part of medical and death-bed decisions (via the American Independent). One recent poll shows 40 percent of Coloradans favoring same-sex marriage, while 32 percent agree with legalizing civil unions but not gay marriage, notes the Colorado Independent.