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COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. -- Colorado will now be offering health insurance to domestic partners of state employees

Governor Bill Ritter quietly signed Senate Bill-88 into law Monday.

Seventeen cities and five counties in Colorado already allow same-sex couples to share benefits.

The state says the gesture will make them a more competitive employer.

Equal rights for same sex couples has been a hot issue, making Senate Bill 88 controversial.

So it didn't help when Gov. Ritter signed this bill into law with very little public notice.

"That's not surprising since Senate Bill 88 creates domestic partnership in Colorado. Only two and a half years ago voters rejected domestic partnerships in November 2006," said Focus on the Family's Bruce Hausknecht.

Proponents of equal rights for LGBT couples call the bill a start.

"This is something the legislation had to do simple because there is not equal access to the laws that already exit, such as marriage equality," said Executive Director of the Pikes Peak Gay and Lesbian Community Center Ryan Acker.

The bill calls state employees in a same sex relationship at a quote "significant disadvantage."

Because those couples can't marry, they also can't claim benefits for their significant others, making at least one member of these couples more likely to be un-insured.

"I think that it's really important for our families to be able to be recognized and for people to be able to take care of their spouses, their children and families," Acker said.

Meanwhile, Hausknecht says if the state wanted to extend benefits they should have done so for more than just one group of underinsured individuals.

"There are other people in other living situations maybe you are caring for an aging father where you might want to have insurance as a state employee for that person you are taking care of only this one small category was protected," Hausknecht said.

Vice Mayor Larry Small says the Springs is looking at similar legislation for city employees.

They're calling it a sponsored benefit program which would extend benefits to domestic partners as well as other dependent adults, for instance a sick family member in a city employees care such as Hausknecht suggested.