An Evergreen Republican says she will vote for a civil unions bill next week when it gets to her committee, paving the way for it to be heard by the entire House.

Rep. Cheri Gerou said she committed at the start of the session to supporting Senate Bill 2, which allows same-sex couples to enter into civil unions.

Two House committees, Judiciary and Finance, this week voted for the measure, each time with a lone Republican joining Democrats in support.

The bill now heads to Appropriations, where Gerou is the vice chairwoman. With her support, Democrats have the votes to move it to the House floor. GOP leadership would have to decide when to take it up, but it must be debated Tuesday; otherwise it would die. The session concludes Wednesday.

Gov. John Hickenlooper on Friday urged that the bill, which already has cleared the Senate, be heard by the entire House. The measure died last year in its first House committee.

“If you step back and look at the history of this country, or the history of the world, many of the great civil rights successes that have come about are built on the foundation of many, many failures,” the governor said.

“At a certain point, you just feel that the time is right. There’s a level, a group, different people from different backgrounds from different parts of the state coming together and all moving towards an idea.”

The bill has been on a roller-coaster ride since Thursday, when Republican Rep. B.J. Nikkel of Loveland stunned some social conservatives by voting with Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee for the measure.

“It’s very disheartening,” said Majority Leader Amy Stephens of Monument, a leading critic of civil unions. “I don’t think any of us can understand her motivation or her reason.”

Friday saw a series of twists and turns to see whether the bill was going to be scheduled for another hearing in time to beat the clock.

The measure passed the Finance Committee on Friday afternoon on a 6-5 vote, with Rep. Don Beezley, R-Broomfield, joining with Democrats.

“If we have more long-term, committed, loving, strong family relationships, I think it would be good for our state and our country,” he said afterward.

A hint of where Beezley was headed came earlier Friday when he walked over to Nikkel on the House floor and gave her a big hug.

“I think B.J. did the greatest thing politically,” he said. “She voted her conscience. I thought that was very courageous.”

Both Nikkel and Beezley aren’t running for re-election but said the fact didn’t play a role in their decisions.

A year ago, the swing vote on appropriations would likely have been Rep. Marsha Looper, R-Calhan.

“Rep. Looper and I had several conversations about it,” said Minority Leader Mark Ferrandino, D-Denver. “She said she was open to it.”

But Looper now is battling Stephens in a Republican primary in which both candidates are trying to out-conservative the other. The two were drawn into the same district after reapportionment. Looper, who has come out against civil unions, could not be reached for comment.

Three Republicans on Appropriations already have voted against the bill in previous committees: Jerry Sonnenberg of Sterling, Brian DelGrosso of Loveland and Bob Gardner of Colorado Springs.

Lynn Bartels: 303-954-5327 or lbartels@denverpost.com