Gov. John Hickenlooper said today he will call a special session to deal with civil-unions and other bills killed in the aftermath of a night-long power struggle between Republicans and Democrats on the House floor late Tuesday.

“I spent a long time in restaurant business,” an emotional Hickenlooper said in a Capitol corridor filled with reporters, lobbyists, staff and onlookers. “A lot of people who helped us create that business didn’t have the same amount of rights as everybody else.

“I had a call yesterday from one of them just to ask, ‘If not now, when?’ “

More than 30 bills died on the calendar Tuesday night, forcing lawmakers today on what is the last day of the session to figure out what can be salvaged. A special session would cost taxpayers $23,500 per day, according to the Legislative Council.

Hickenlooper said his staff would decide Thursday what bills still needed to be addressed in the special session, which can touch on multiple subjects. But the call would likely be to address bills dealing with public safety, economic development and water projects.

And “certainly” civil unions, he said.

“I think our goal is to make sure we do everything we can to try to make sure there is a fair, open debate on the floor of the House and the Senate,” the governor said, “that the issue gets discussed and that we allow people the chance to vote on it and that we move this entire state forward to make sure, as Martin Luther King said, ‘The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.’ “

Hickenlooper’s staff said the special session could begin as early as Friday but might begin on Monday.

The Democratic governor said he told House Speaker Frank McNulty on Tuesday night that he might call a special session to address the issue.

The state Senate was working throughout the afternoon in an attempt to graft dead bills onto still-living ones.

“We’ll try to be the adults in the building,” said Senate President Brandon Shaffer, D-Longmont, “but we won’t be able to save everything.”

Shaffer said lawmakers are particularly concerned about a bill that funds $20 million in water projects this year statewide and a school discipline measure.

But the demise of civil unions has upset Republicans and Democrats alike. One Colorado, the largest gay-rights group in the state, immediately began soliciting donations in preparation for the November elections.

House Republicans filibustered in committee and on the floor Tuesday before McNulty , R-Highlands Ranch, called a two-hour recess. When he returned around 11 p.m. it was to announce an impasse, which meant the death of the civil-union measure although the votes were there to pass it.

Supporters in the gallery were livid and chanted, “Shame on you! Shame on you!”

By law the session must end by midnight tonight. Bills can’t be debated and voted on within the same 24-hour period, which is why civil unions needed to be heard on the House floor Tuesday.

Mario Nicolais, spokesman for Coloradans for Freedom, the GOP group formed solely to push for the passage of civil unions, watched the defeat in agony. As a Republican, and an admitted hard-core partisan, Nicolais said he is concerned about the fallout in November.

Republicans have a one-seat edge in the House and are trying to win back the Senate from Democrats.

“I’m more concerned about the Republican majority in the fall than I am about civil unions passing,” Nicolais said.

“Civil unions will pass at some point. That’s going to happen. But I think people are going to very upset at how this happened. I think it’s going to resonate and I worry about that as a Republican.”

In fact, One Colorado started a fundraising drive Tuesday night.

“Although November seems far away, our work to change the legislature starts today. And you can be a part of electing a pro-equality majority,” the e-mail said. “With a gift of $25, $50, or $100 — you can have a huge impact on electing pro-equality lawmakers in November. Click here to make your contribution.”

The bill’s death also infuriated Tim Gill, a Democrat gay activist who has used his immense wealth to champion gay causes and get liked-minded candidates elected to state legislatures across the country, notably in Colorado.

“It is unfortunate that Republican leaders chose to ignore the many personal stories of committed, loving couples who simply want to be treated fairly under our laws,” Gill, of Denver, said today in a statement. “Using parliamentary gimmicks to kill the civil unions bill does not represent the Colorado that we all know and love.”

But Alan Philp, former director of the Colorado Republican Party, said he believes the fallout will actually be against Democrats for pushing a divisive social issue instead of focusing on jobs and the economy.

He said that’s what happened to Colorado Republicans in 2004 when, with Gill’s help, they lost control of the legislature for the first time since 1962. Republicans won back the House in 2010.

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