By and large conservatives are in agreement on many if not most major issues of the day. On a few issues there are significant differences amongst people who can fairly call themselves good conservatives and those issues deserve a strong and vigorous public debate.

Such is the case with the very public debate about civil unions in Colorado. Today the Peak will launch the first of a three-part series where we asked conservative leaders to make their best case for or against civil unions.

The majority of elected Republicans still oppose civil unions and gay marriage, to be sure. And we suspect that is probably true with Republican voters at large as well. But during the very high profile legislative debate about the legislation, a careful ear couldn't help but notice a growing sentiment of support for civil unions from libertarians and a younger generation of conservatives and even Tea Partiers.

Whether or not a generational shift is taking place within the conservative movement remains to be seen, but we at the Peak want to take the honest debate within conservative ranks about civil unions, well, out of the closet. Our goal with this 3-part series is not to pick sides or to start an argument, but rather to give both sides a chance to make their case in an honest, thoughtful way. 

We don't believe ad hominem attacks on legislators, like the liberal smear of Rep. BJ Nikkel, have any useful place in the debate. Instead we aim to elevate the debate to a level where intelligent conversation can be had on an issue that is in no way simple for many people.

To facilitate this dialogue we reached out to a number of current and former Republican leaders and asked them to write an article detailing their thinking on the issue. 

Later this morning, we will be posting Senator Kevin Lundberg's (R-Berthoud) article detailing why he opposes civil unions. 

Tomorrow morning, we will be posting former Rep. Rob Witwer's (R-Genesee) article explaining why he supports civil unions.

On Thursday morning, we will have a surprise article written by a conservative leader detailing an interesting perspective.

Going forward Colorado Peak Politics will be seeking to encourage intelligent conversations and debates on complex issues that have varying conservative viewpoints. Please send us any ideas for topics you might have ([email protected])