Colorado Democrats Push Trans Bill Like That Newsom Vetoed
The “Kelly Loving Act” (HB 1312) in Colorado has been described as one of the most extreme and anti-family bills proposed in U.S.history. While it aims to provide legal protections for transgender individuals, critics argue that it facilitates the state intervening in parental rights, allowing children to be taken from parents who do not support their desire to transition gender-wise.
key points of contention include provisions that prohibit parents from “misgendering” or “deadnaming” their child once a new identity has been adopted, which could lead to accusations of abuse. The bill also extends anti-discrimination protections to include misgendering and deadnaming, pressuring businesses and individuals to use preferred pronouns under threat of discrimination claims. Moreover, it mandates schools to comply with gender ideology, including using preferred pronouns and forbidding sex-based dress codes.
The bill’s passage was expedited,with little time for debate,and it has faced significant opposition,garnering over 400 testimonies against it in Senate hearings. Notably,even prominent LGBTQ+ advocacy groups like One Colorado and the Gill Foundation have withdrawn their support,citing legal concerns about the bill’s implications for existing protections.
Critics, including some former supporters, warn that HB 1312 threatens parental rights by allowing children to report parents to state authorities, reminiscent of totalitarian practices. The growing dissent against the bill indicates a recognition of its extreme measures,with calls for its defeat to prevent it from influencing legislation in other states.
Colorado’s “Kelly Loving Act” (HB 1312) is truly one of the most radical, extreme, and anti-family bills ever proposed in our nation’s 249-year history. And that might be an understatement.
HB 1312 purports to provide “legal protections for transgender individuals.” In reality, it facilitates the state ripping children away from their parents if they refuse to go along with their child’s desire to “socially” or “medically transition.”
Indeed, HB 1312’s Section 2 prohibits parents from “misgendering” or “deadnaming” their child from the moment they choose to adopt a new identity. The bill likens such horrible practices — such as parents calling their child by the name they lovingly chose for them — to “abuse” equivalent to “threatening, humiliating, or [other] intimidating actions, including assaults or other abuse.”
If parents refuse, Colorado’s courts could step in and remove the child from their parent’s custody.
The legislation’s Sections 8 and 9 also adds “deadnaming” and “misgendering” to the state’s Anti-Discrimination Act, the same law that was used by the radical Colorado Civil Rights Commission to go after Christian cake artist Jack Phillips. Such a provision would censor the speech of businesses and employees across the state, forcing them to utter falsehoods they know to be untrue — or else.
In addition, the proposed bill’s Section 4, 5, and 6 would force schools to bend the knee to gender ideology, mandating school employees use student’s “preferred pronouns” and prohibiting any sex-based dress codes.
Rushed Process
It’s no wonder state Democrats rushed HB 1312 through the Colorado House, hoping no one would take notice of their plot to destroy parental rights, free speech, and a child’s right to an intact body and healthy sexual identity.
They first introduced the bill late in the day on Friday, March 28. On Monday, they scheduled a committee hearing on the bill for the next day, leaving almost no time for debate or consideration. Despite the rushed schedule, more than 100 individuals showed up to testify against the legislation.
The bill subsequently passed the House on April 6 in a 38-20 vote.
HB 1312 was introduced in the Colorado Senate on April 22 with the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing testimony on April 30. While 70 people signed up to testify in support of the bill, more than 400 signed up to oppose it.
To silence the bill’s critics, the committee chair limited testimony to four hours per side.
The bill’s sponsors also proposed an amended version of the bill to remove the bill’s most egregious sections, including Sections 2, 5, and 8. If an amended bill is passed by the Senate, the Colorado House would have to approve it once more.
Jeff Johnston, an analyst at Focus on the Family, called out legislator’s attempts to silence opposition to the bill.
“Members of this legislature have shown deep contempt for those of us who embrace reality, calling us ‘haters’ and likening us to ‘the KKK,’” Johnston said. “But we are not the ones irreparably harming children, suppressing free speech, assaulting parental rights, and attacking religious freedom through totalitarian measures like HB 1312.”
HB 1312 is so extreme, so horrific, that at least two leading gay rights groups in Colorado are pulling back on their support for it.
According to The Denver Post, both One Colorado and the Gill Foundation have soured on the bill.
One Colorado is the state’s self-described “leading advocacy organization dedicated to advancing equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) Coloradans and their families.” The Gill Foundation is the nation’s largest funder of pro-LGBT causes (with more than $181 million in assets), founded by the wealthy gay-identified activist Tim Gill.
Withdrawn Support
After initially supporting HB 1312, One Colorado has withdrawn its support. The organization told state lawmakers it is changing its position on the bill from a “support” to an “amend” position and is instead seeking changes. The group told The Denver Post it “had legal concerns” and it “wanted to ensure the bill didn’t jeopardize ‘existing protections.’”
Likewise, the Gill Foundation — which also financially supports One Colorado — has privately called lawmakers to express “concerns.”
It’s unsurprising HB 1312 languished in the Senate for weeks — even LGBT activists recognize the extreme reach of this measure.
Truly, Colorado Democrats have pushed the envelope so far; in doing so, they have lost the most prominent LGBT activist organizations in the country. That fact alone should be enough for the state’s radical legislators to wave the white flag, pack their bags, and go home on May 7, the end of Colorado’s legislative session.
Erin Friday, whose daughter once struggled with confusion over her sexual identity, is a lifelong Democrat attorney from California. She hit the nail on the head when she observed HB 1312 would “invert the parent-child relationship by granting children authority over their parents.” Yes, “Children could report their parents to state authorities, a hallmark of totalitarian regimes.”
Such an absurd outcome led California Gov. Gavin Newsom to veto similar legislation when it came across his desk in 2023.
In his veto message, Gov. Newsom “urge[d] caution when the Executive and Legislative branches of state government attempt to dictate — in prescriptive terms that single out one characteristic — legal standards for the Judicial branch to apply.”
This might be the first and only time I’ll write these words: Gov. Newsom is exactly right.
HB 1312 must be defeated in Colorado before it metastasizes to any other state.
Zachary Mettler works as a staff writer and communications liaison for the Daily Citizen at Focus on the Family. In his role, he writes about current political issues, U.S. history, political philosophy, and culture. Mettler earned his bachelor’s degree from William Jessup University and is an alumnus of the Young Leaders Program at The Heritage Foundation. In addition to the Daily Citizen, his written pieces have appeared in the Daily Wire, the Washington Times, the Washington Examiner, Newsweek, Townhall, the Daily Signal, the Christian Post, Charisma News, and other outlets.
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