The Colorado House passed a measure that would empower the government to take children away from parents in custody disputes.
House Bill 25-1312, also known as the “Kelly Loving Act,” was introduced in the Colorado General Assembly ostensibly to protect trans-identified children in areas like child custody, education, and others.
One of the bill’s central provisions is classifying “deadnaming” and “misgendering” as forms of coercion in custody disputes. Deadnaming occurs when a person calls a trans-identified individual by their birth name and not the new name they have chosen to align with their gender identity. Misgendering is referring to a trans-identified by their accurate pronouns, not the ones they have chosen.
The proposed legislation requires courts to consider this behavior when determining which parents can gain custody of their children during divorce proceedings.
Deadnaming or misgendering … the individual or the individual’s child or relative” is now formally included as evidence of coercive control. Additionally, “any report related to domestic violence or coercive control” must be considered in custody hearings involving parenting time.
Another provision prohibits Colorado courts from enforcing out-of-state judgments that penalize parents who allow their children to undergo “gender-affirming care,” which includes puberty blockers, hormones, and sometimes surgeries. These treatments have raised concerns about inflicting irreversible physical and emotional damage on minors.
The bill, if passed, would mandate “inclusive” policies in the education system. Any policy related to chosen names “must be inclusive of all reasons that a student might adopt a chosen name that differs from the student’s legal name,” according to the measure. Additionally, it requires that dress codes “must not create or enforce any rules based on gender.”
Finally, the bill declares that “it is a discriminatory practice and unlawful to, with specific intent to discriminate, publish materials that deadname or misgender an individual.”
Z Williams, director of client support and operations at Bread and Roses Legal Center, told Truthout that the measure “extends protections to trans people that most Coloradans already enjoy.”
She added, “At a time when transgender folks are facing constant attacks from the federal government, this is an opportunity to tell people they are safe here.”
To put it simply, if you’re a parent going through a divorce in Colorado, the state might punish you for refusing to embrace progressive gender ideology. Parents that go along with the farce will be in a better position to win custody. This is nothing less than an effort to weaponize the state against those who do not adhere to gender ideology.
Unfortunately, Colorado’s government appears to be dominated by far-leftist politicians who have no qualms with using state power to force their absurd ideas on the rest of the population.
Several school districts in the state have policies requiring teachers and school staff to conceal a student’s gender identity from parents. This means parents might not be aware that their kids are exhibiting symptoms of gender dysphoria. It’s an insidious way for far-leftists to subvert parental rights through government-run schools.
Last year, state lawmakers pushed legislation that would compel schools to socially transition students who might be suffering from gender dysphoria. This would include making school teachers and staff use a child’s chosen name and pronouns regardless of how their parents feel about it.