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Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Heavily amended bill adding legal protections for transgender people passes Colorado Senate
Two people fly a rainbow LGBTQ pride flag and a transgender pride flag in front of the Colorado Capitol building during a celebration on Nov. 7, 2020. (Moe Clark/Colorado Newsline) The Colorado Senate gave final approval Tuesday to a heavily amended bill adding legal protections for transgender people in a 20-14 vote after hours of debate and opposition from Republican senators. House Bill 25-1312, dubbed the Kelly Loving Act in honor of a transgender woman killed during the 2022 Club Q shooting in Colorado Springs, would make it a discriminatory act to intentionally not refer to a transgender person by their chosen name. It also requires school policies be 'inclusive of all reasons' that a student changes their name, and it says schools must allow students to choose from any variation contained in dress code policies. The bill includes a provision that says someone does not need a court order if they want to change their gender marker on a driver's license or other identification a second or third time. Colorado allows an 'X' gender marker on state IDs, but that has led to some people having trouble with student loans and passport applications, so some people may want to change their gender markers back. It will also allow a county clerk to issue a new marriage license to someone who has legally changed their name. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX 'This bill's needed because if transgender residents were never harassed, denied services, or mocked in official settings, additional clarification would be unnecessary,' Sen. Chris Kolker, a Littleton Democrat, said Tuesday. 'The lived evidence shows that gaps persist.' Kolker sponsored the bill alongside Sen. Faith Winter, a Broomfield Democrat, Rep. Lorena García, an Adams County Democrat, and Rep. Rebekah Stewart, a Lakewood Democrat. The House voted 39-24 to accept the Senate's many amendments to the measure and 40-24 to approve it again as amended. Democratic Reps. Regina English of Colorado Springs and Naquetta Ricks of Aurora joined Republicans in voting against accepting the amendments to the bill. House Republicans continued echoing parental rights concerns during debate that went into late Tuesday evening, which bill supporters said were unfounded under the latest version of the bill. 'The continued mischaracterization of these policies needs to stop,' Garcia said Tuesday night. 'It is a disservice to Coloradans who are really trying to understand what is in this bill, and we should be honest and truthful about what we are agreeing to or disagreeing with without exaggeration.' The measure will now go to Colorado Gov. Jared Polis' desk to be signed into law. Two Democrats in the Senate joined Republicans in voting against the bill: Sen. Kyle Mullica of Thornton and Sen. Marc Snyder of Manitou Springs. The Senate adopted an amendment Monday that removed a portion of the bill that would have shielded parents who help their child obtain gender-affirming care from laws in other states that outlaw the practice — a part of the bill some supporters had reservations about due to potential legal implications. A Senate committee cut part of the section last week, on top of many other substantial amendments, but bill sponsors offered an amendment deleting the section entirely. Colorado already has a shield law in place that protects people who travel to Colorado for abortion or gender-affirming care from lawsuits and criminal prosecution initiated in other states, and Winter said the original intent of the cut section was to strengthen those protections. We are proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with our community in full support of the Kelly Loving Act. Trans liberation is non-negotiable. – Nadine Bridges, One Colorado executive director Another two amendments added Monday made technical and terminology changes, and changed the description of a 'chosen name' to mean a name someone wants to be known by related to 'disability, race, creed, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, familial status, national origin, or ancestry, so long as the name does not contain offensive language and the individual is not requesting the name for frivolous purposes.' Winter said that change made the policy inclusive of all reasons someone may want to change their name, not just gender identity. Republican senators acknowledged and thanked bill sponsors for removing provisions that would have affected child custody decisions — the most controversial portion of the original bill — but said many constituents don't realize that was removed and continue to express concern. Republicans still said the bill would affect parental rights related to chosen names and dress codes in schools. Senate Minority Paul Lundeen, a Monument Republican, said Tuesday on the Senate floor that the measure still interferes with the 'sacred' parent-child relationship even as amended and draws the state into 'personal family matters.' '(House Bill) 1312, despite its protective intent, creates a system where schools and state agencies become the arbiter of deeply personal family decisions,' Lundeen said. 'By mandating inclusive name policies, enforcing gender neutral dress codes, enlisting the (Colorado Civil Rights Division) to police speech, this bill risks transforming schools and courts into areas where the state overrides parental authority. We must not allow government to intrude into and fracture the trust between parents and children.' Rod Pelton, a Cheyenne Wells Republican, said he received more communications related to House Bill 1312 than any other bill this session. Other senators from both sides of the aisle have said the same. One Colorado, one of the largest LGBTQ+ advocacy groups in Colorado, and Rocky Mountain Equality both support the bill in its current form after various amendments were adopted. The organizations initially supported the bill, but changed to an 'amend' position with unspecified legal concerns after it passed the House. 'We are proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with our community in full support of the Kelly Loving Act. Trans liberation is non-negotiable,' One Colorado Executive Director Nadine Bridges said in a statement the organization posted to Facebook. 'Pro-equality legislation is not just about creating hope, but creating a better reality. It is a fight that we all need to be in together to protect our community, our family.' Democrats control strong majorities in both chambers of the Legislature. The 2025 legislative session ends Wednesday. Editor's note: This story and headline were updated at 9:17 a.m., May 7, 2025, to include the House vote on Senate amendments and previously to correct that the amended version of the bill says intentionally not referring to a transgender person is a discriminatory act. The terms 'deadnaming' and 'misgendering' were removed from the bill. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Colorado parents unload on liberal lawmakers, prompting changes to controversial gender bill
Parents packed a Wednesday night Colorado Senate hearing to voice outrage over a gender identity bill that critics say could attack parental rights. HB25-1312, which imposes state-mandated gender policies on schools, initially would have considered a parent's refusal to affirm their child's gender identity as "coercive control" in child custody cases. "Pass this bill and history will not remember you as heroes, it will remember you as cowards who sold out the rights of the people for the approval of extremists," one concerned dad declared. Others branded the bill an "attack on parental rights," with one saying the measure could be more accurately called "how to break up families and use the law to steal children from their parents." Colorado Dems Ram Abortion, Transgender Bills Through On Limited Sunday Session Debate: 'Unprecedented' Another more succinctly said, "disagreement is not abuse." Read On The Fox News App After much contention, sponsoring lawmakers, Democratic Sens. Chris Kolker and Faith Winter, stripped the bill of its most controversial provisions before an overnight vote — and while Republicans say it's a big win for them and for parents, their fight against the effort isn't over yet. State Rep. Rose Pugliese, a Republican representing the Centennial State's 14th district, told "The Faulkner Focus" on Thursday that she believes the bill is still an attack on parental rights. "All the grassroots parents that came and waited in line for hours in order to testify really helped make this bill less egregious in some ways and then more egregious in other ways," she said. "While they took out that child custody piece, which was a real problem, especially for domestic violence survivors that I get to work with… they included language that said, 'you no longer are required to get a court order in order to change your name and get a government-issued ID, even if you are in this country unlawfully,' so that jeopardizes public safety in a different way. Colorado's 'Totalitarian' Transgenderism Bill Sparks Concerns From Parents She continued, "So we're still attacking parental rights, but we are now adding an additional public safety element to it." She went on to slam the state's Democratic leadership for pushing measures to make Coloradans less safe and urged parents to continue their pressure campaign by talking to their state senators. "We know that amendments could be offered on the floor. We don't know what this bill will look like when it comes back to the House, so we cannot let the pressure off. We need to have these conversations and continue to get our voices heard, and I think parents are doing that across Colorado and across this nation." According to The Denver Post, if the bill becomes law, it will "still protect transgender people from being misgendered or deadnamed, or referred to by the name they used before they transitioned, in discrimination laws for places like work and school." The hypothetical law could also protect Colorado from other states' "anti-transgender policies" and make changes to existing policies for name alterations and gender markers on driver's article source: Colorado parents unload on liberal lawmakers, prompting changes to controversial gender bill
Fox News
02-05-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Colorado parents unload on liberal lawmakers, prompting changes to controversial gender bill
Parents packed a Wednesday night Colorado Senate hearing to voice outrage over a gender identity bill that critics say could attack parental rights. HB25-1312, which imposes state-mandated gender policies on schools, initially would have considered a parent's refusal to affirm their child's gender identity as "coercive control" in child custody cases. "Pass this bill and history will not remember you as heroes, it will remember you as cowards who sold out the rights of the people for the approval of extremists," one concerned dad declared. Others branded the bill an "attack on parental rights," with one saying the measure could be more accurately called "how to break up families and use the law to steal children from their parents." Another more succinctly said, "disagreement is not abuse." After much contention, sponsoring lawmakers, Democratic Sens. Chris Kolker and Faith Winter, stripped the bill of its most controversial provisions before an overnight vote — and while Republicans say it's a big win for them and for parents, their fight against the effort isn't over yet. State Rep. Rose Pugliese, a Republican representing the Centennial State's 14th district, told "The Faulkner Focus" on Thursday that she believes the bill is still an attack on parental rights. "All the grassroots parents that came and waited in line for hours in order to testify really helped make this bill less egregious in some ways and then more egregious in other ways," she said. "While they took out that child custody piece, which was a real problem, especially for domestic violence survivors that I get to work with… they included language that said, 'you no longer are required to get a court order in order to change your name and get a government-issued ID, even if you are in this country unlawfully,' so that jeopardizes public safety in a different way. She continued, "So we're still attacking parental rights, but we are now adding an additional public safety element to it." She went on to slam the state's Democratic leadership for pushing measures to make Coloradans less safe and urged parents to continue their pressure campaign by talking to their state senators. "We know that amendments could be offered on the floor. We don't know what this bill will look like when it comes back to the House, so we cannot let the pressure off. We need to have these conversations and continue to get our voices heard, and I think parents are doing that across Colorado and across this nation." According to The Denver Post, if the bill becomes law, it will "still protect transgender people from being misgendered or deadnamed, or referred to by the name they used before they transitioned, in discrimination laws for places like work and school." The hypothetical law could also protect Colorado from other states' "anti-transgender policies" and make changes to existing policies for name alterations and gender markers on driver's licenses.
Axios
01-05-2025
- Politics
- Axios
Transgender rights bill advances at Colorado Capitol
In the final week of the legislative session, Colorado lawmakers are advancing protections against discrimination for transgender individuals. Why it matters: The legislation exemplifies Colorado's role as a counterweight to President Trump and several conservative-led states after repeated attacks on the transgender community and efforts to curtail their rights. Driving the news: The furthest-reaching aspect of Colorado's bill would make purposely and repeatedly deadnaming or misgendering trans people an act of discrimination. Other protections would: Require schools that allow chosen names to accommodate trans students. Allow students to abide by either gender-specific dress code at school. What they're saying:"This is about keeping kids safe, preventing bullying, ensuring our public systems reflect the dignity of all people and sending a message that … even in moments of political noise, Colorado still leads with compassion," bill sponsor Sen. Chris Kolker (D-Littleton) said at a hearing yesterday. Between the lines: The legislation is named the Kelly Loving Act in honor of a transgender woman killed in the Club Q nightclub shooting in 2022. Context: Deadnaming refers to using a transgender person's former name, typically assigned at birth, without their consent. Misgendering involves referring to someone with incorrect pronouns or terms that do not reflect their gender identity. The big picture: The measure builds on Colorado's previous efforts to protect transgender people and dovetails with other legislation this session, including allowing death certificates to reflect a person's gender identity and requiring health insurance companies to cover gender-affirming care. Zoom in: The debate on the latest trans rights bill is one of the most contentious this session. In its first hearing, lawmakers heard 10 hours of public testimony and hundreds of people sought to testify at Wednesday's hearing. Even LGBTQ advocates are split, given concerns that the language could jeopardize existing protections in law.
CBS News
17-04-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Colorado lawmakers receive a dire message from former Department of Education employees
Former employees at the U.S. Department of Education are warning state lawmakers that Colorado could lose hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding for schools. The state receives about $870 million a year from the federal government, which is about 13% of the total funding for K-12 education. Nearly half of the money goes to help educate low-income students and students with disabilities. The job of the Department of Education is to ensure the dollars reach those kids but, after the Trump administration eliminated nearly half of the department's workforce , state Sen. Chris Kolker, the chairman of the Senate Education Committee, worries that may not happen. For the last month, he has watched as the administration has dismantled and defunded the department and has expected Congress to intervene. It hasn't. So, he is taking action. He called a hearing that included former Department of Education employees to find out what the cuts mean for Colorado. "This is not meant to be confrontational at all. It's informational, and we want to learn what we need to prepare for," Kolker said. Former data analysts Joe Murphy and Sarah Newman are among those who testified. "There hasn't been a transfer of duties. We're not seeing, you know, a transition plan. And I'm worried that, you know, come this next school year, children are ... they're not going to have what they need to thrive," Newman told CBS Colorado. She and Murphy urged legislators to pass a law to ensure federal funding continues to reach students most in need. While the federal government could allocate the money to states as a block grant, the legislature would need to pass a law that stipulates how it's to be dispersed, and the Colorado Department of Education would likely need additional staff. Emily Harvey with Disability Law Colorado told the Education Committee the state also needs a pass a new civil rights law. She says the Education Department's civil rights office in Denver now has just 24 employees to handle more than 2,800 complaints. "For many students with disabilities and their families, that means bullying, discrimination and other civil rights violations may continue without remedy or recourse," Harvey said. Colorado not only receives money for specific student populations but grant money for things like drug and violence prevention, counseling, and career and technical programs. That money is usually distributed by the Department of Education in July. While Democrats have condemned the cuts as reckless, Republicans, including state Sen. Paul Lundeen, say change is needed, noting the Department of Education has grown even as student assessments have plummeted. "Public education, as it is now, is failing more than 50% of the students, and a substantial percentage larger of Black and Brown students. Is it an elegant process? No. But we have to rethink how we're doing public education, and this is part of how that may happen," Lundeen said.
