The outcome wasn't a surprise - the bill was assigned by the House leadership to the Information and Technology Committee because it is heavy with conservatives.

Anti-gay groups such as Focus on the Family ignored the hearing, as they did last year, knowing there would be no reason to testify.

That didn't stop Rep. Alice Madden, D-Boulder, who has watched her bill die on 7-4 votes for two years running, from trying. But even fellow Democrat Carl Miller, of Leadville, voted against the measure.

Madden's bill would have offered co-parent, or second-parent, adoption rights to gay and lesbian couples. She argued that no matter what people think of gays and lesbians, they must not hold that against their children. The kids need to be protected by both parents' health insurance, Social Security benefits and inheritance, Madden said.

"Here we are denying economic security in a committed relationship where people are craving responsibility," she said.

Gay parents, some holding their children in their laps, said they worry that if their partner is disabled or died, their children would end up with only one parent's income and benefits.

"This is all about these little kids here," said Doug Henderson, who brought partner John Pescitelli and their children, 4-year-old Becky and 1-year-old twins Jeff and Annie, to the hearing.

"They have the family they know. They need us," he said.

State law calls for always doing what's in the best interest of the child, legal advocates of gays said, no matter who their parents are.

Republicans on the committee voted to kill the bill with no comment. After the vote, Rep. Pam Rhodes, R-Thornton, said she opposes the bill because the Colorado Supreme Court already has ruled on the gay adoption issue.

"It's my feeling the judges have evaluated what's in the best interest of the child," Rhodes said.

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