• • Tales of triumph, tragedy used to inspire lawmakers 
John Schroyer, The Gazette (Colorado Springs) In the House of Representatives, Speaker Mark Ferrandino, D-Denver, and Minority Leader Mark Waller, R-Colorado Springs, both spoke of the need to bolster Colorado educational programs, but laid out distinctly different hopes for the session. Ferrandino concentrated on gun control, government health care expansion, the state budget and civil rights for illegal immigrants and homosexuals. When he mentioned the much-anticipated bill to create civil unions for gay couples, he ironically quoted a typically Republican hero, author Ayn Rand. “The political function of rights is precisely to protect minorities from oppressive majorities,” Ferrandino said, and declared that “all committed couples deserve equal protection under the law.”   Published: 2013-01-09