A bill that allows gay couples the right to form civil unions passed the Colorado Senate on Thursday after a series of speeches that contained Bible verses, passages of Shakespeare and even a section of military law.

Sen. Rollie Heath revealed that one of his jobs in the Army was to sign off on the “108” discharge forms dismissing military members who were gay.

“I thought nothing of it,” the Boulder Democrat said. “It never, ever occurred to me that this was not the right thing to do. How could you have gays in the military? Everything would come to a halt.”

Heath later became a passionate supporter of gay rights.

The vote on Senate Bill 2 surprised no one. All 20 Democrats plus the three women in the GOP caucus supported the measure by Sen. Pat Steadman, D-Denver, who is gay. The 12 men in the GOP caucus voted against it.

It’s the same vote on a nearly identical bill that passed the Senate last year but died in a Republican-controlled House committee. This year’s bill is expected to have a tough time again in the House, where Republicans hold a 33-32 majority.

During the debate, Sen. Ellen Roberts, R-Durango, recalled being a young mother when Colorado in 1992 passed Amendment 2, which prohibited laws protecting gays from discrimination. It was struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1996.

“I was stopped in my tracks,” she said. “I could not believe that in this great, generous, free-spirited state of mine that I loved so much that we had just passed a constitutional amendment that denied gay people basic rights and liberties.”

Roberts said a “person is a person is a person,” which she admitted wasn’t nearly as eloquent as the Shakespeare quoted earlier, but it summed up her support for civil unions.

Here are some of the other arguments made during the debate:

• Republican Kevin Lundberg of Berthoud: “There are many, many citizens in Colorado from my district, from your district, that do not agree with changing the meaning of marriage in Colorado. And Senate Bill 2 does change the meaning of marriage.”

• Democrat Morgan Carroll of Aurora: “If you do not want or believe in a civil union, don’t get one, but, please, don’t hold back everybody else from having full legal equality.”

• Republican Scott Renfroe of Greeley: “I truly believe Jesus is a better answer than Senate Bill 2. Adopting laws that change our definition of morality will tear at the fabric of society.”

• Democrat Mike Johnston of Denver: “For me, the great mystery of the Lord is the mystery of unconditional love. It is as simple as John 4:8, which is ‘God is love.’ ”

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