Colorado Democrats Kill Measure That Could Have Cost Parents Custody of Children If They Did Not Affirm Their Gender Identities

Democratic lawmakers in Colorado are removing a provision from an anti-discrimination bill that could have led to judges taking custody away from parents who do not affirm their children’s gender identities.The bill, HB 25-1312, sparked concerns from Republicans, who called it an “extreme assault” on parental rights and religious freedom. One of the more controversial portions of the bill would have required that courts making child custody decisions consider if parents engaged in “deadnaming, misgendering, or threatening to publish material related to an individual’s gender-affirming health-care services as types of coercive control.”Following weeks of pressure from conservatives and concerned parents, Colorado’s senate judiciary committee voted 5-2 on Thursday to advance the bill with some revisions that watered down its most controversial aspects. The committee removed the provision of the bill that would have required judges to consider if parents “deadnamed” or “misgendered” their children while making custody decisions.A Democratic state senator on the committee, Dylan Roberts, told Colorado Newsline that if that provision were in the bill, “I would have been opposed. I think it was an intrusion into the parent-child relationship that would have had some negative consequences.”“And while I understand the intent maybe of the original inclusion, I think the policy implications were challenging at best,” he added. Lawmakers also adjusted a portion of the bill that would have instructed courts on how to consider intentional and repeated deadnaming or misgendering when considering evidence of discrimination.A Democratic state senator, Faith Winter, said, “The language around this is not if you call someone the wrong name by accident.”“This isn’t if someone shows up at your workplace and you call them the wrong name or misgender them. There has to be intentionality to cause harm, and so this is about the action to the individual and not just speech,” she added. Republicans voiced opposition to the bill even with the new changes. A Republican state senator, John Carson, told Colorado Newsline, “Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act prohibits discrimination in employment, housing, public accommodations, extending protections beyond federal law, protects individuals from discrimination based on disability, race, creed, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, religion, age, national origin, and ancestry.”“My belief is when we have adequate laws, we should focus on enforcing those,” he added.The bill must be approved by the Colorado senate appropriations committee before it can receive a vote by the full senate. The Colorado house will also have to vote on the revised bill.Democrats control enough seats in the legislature that they can pass the bill without any Republican support. The state’s legislative session ends May 7.

Colorado Democrats Kill Measure That Could Have Cost Parents Custody of Children If They Did Not Affirm Their Gender Identities

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