Colorado Democrats sent a transgender bill to Gov. Jared Polis’s (D) desk on Tuesday after passing several amendments removing extremely radical provisions from the measure.
The original version of the bill sparked backlash from parents and conservatives for proposing to classify “misgendering” and “deadnaming” as forms of child abuse that would be admissible in child custody disputes. That provision was one of several more radical elements wiped from the bill before passage, after even supportive LGBTQ+ groups and the governor’s office expressed concern over the types of legal challenges the initial version of the bill would bring, The Denver Post reported.
House Bill 1312 as passed would still “amend the state’s anti-discrimination laws to prohibit, in certain settings, intentionally referring to people other than by the name they chose to conform with their gender identity or other personal trait,” according to the report. “It would also more explicitly protect against discrimination based on someone’s gender identity.”
The report continues:
Those provisions, which include intentionally using the wrong pronouns or “deadnaming” a trans person — by referring to them by the name they used before they transitioned — would apply in places of public accommodation, like schools or workplaces.
A provision that would have prohibited Colorado courts from complying with orders or laws from other states mandating that a child be taken from parents or caregivers who allow them access to mutilating sex change drugs and surgeries — which transgender activists euphemistically call “gender-affirming care” — was also removed. In its place, Democrats put in a provision stating that Coloradans should be able to make certain health care decisions “without unnecessary governmental interference.”
“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,” Colorado Newsline reported.
RELATED: More Than 80 Colorado School Leaders Urge Lawmakers to Reject Radical Transgender Bill
Another part of the bill that was significantly trimmed down before passage was language imposing gender policies in schools. The bill originally would have directed schools that establish policies related to “chosen names” to include all reasons why a student may choose to go by a name other than their legal name. Schools would also have been barred from including rules based on “gender” in dress code policies.
A modified version parses the language to instead mandate that schools be “inclusive of all reasons that student might adopt a name that differs from the student’s legal name,” and states that the dress code policy “must allow each student to choose from any of the options provided in the dress code policy.”
The bill additionally allows someone to change their “gender” marker on a driver’s license or other identification up to three times without a court order. It also allows a county clerk to issue a new marriage license to an individual who has legally changed their name.
Every Republican voted against the bill, along with two Democrats. Colorado Republicans contended that despite the welcome changes, the bill still affects parental rights in relation to chosen names and school dress codes.
Senate Minority Leader Paul Lundeen said:
(House Bill) 1312, despite its protective intent, creates a system where schools and state agencies become the arbiter of deeply personal family decisions. 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.
Democrats in Colorado control the House, Senate, and the governorship, and repeatedly used procedural rules to stymie and stop debate on this bill altogether.
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