DENVER -- Gay parenting is a controversial issue that was not only featured Thursday night on television, but could also be the talk next week at the state Legislature, 7NEWS reported.

That's when House Bill 1356 is scheduled to be presented before the House committee. The bill would prohibit same-sex parents from putting both of their names on a birth certificate, eliminating any rights the second same-sex parent could have, 7NEWS reported.

The bill would affect families like that of 3-year-old Nicholas. He has two mothers and no in-home father.

"I don't walk around thinking of myself as a lesbian. I walk around thinking of myself as a parent of a 3-year-old," said Nicholas' mother April Hanberry.

April and her partner, Karen, have been together for 11 years. While Karen is Nicholas' biological mother, "There's no question in my mind that I am just as much as his mother as Karen is," April said.

Both women are listed on Nicholas' birth certificate.

"Since I'm a stay-at-home mom, I need to take him to the doctor's and I need to register him for school," April said.

She said for her, it's not a political or civil rights issue, but an issue of providing for her son whether she is or isn't his biological mother.

"Its really uncomfortable to be put into a position to have to justify why I want to have kids," April said.

But not everyone would agree. House Bill 1356 would specifically target same-sex couples with children, 7NEWS reported.

"For their kids, it means they lost a parent or they lost the ability to have that second parent," said attorney Kim Willoughby. "If you have one legal parent then that child only gets legal protection from that parent. If you have two legal parents, then that child gets protection from two legal parents."

"It's not perfect, it never will be for any child, but I can't imagine anyone looking at him and saying he shouldn't be born because he doesn't have a dad," April said.