Colorado Democrats introduced a bill that would classify “deadnaming and misgendering” as discriminatory acts, thereby cracking down on speech that opposes the transgender movement.
The legislation would ban “deadnaming,” or referring to a self-described transgender person by his or her former name before claiming to be a member of the other sex, and “misgendering,” or calling that person a member of their actual sex, in places of public accommodation. The bill would also disallow the publication of materials that “deadname or misgender” an individual.
The proposal would meanwhile let courts consider both “deadnaming” and “misgendering” in child custody cases when deciding “the best interests of a child for purposes of parenting time.”
Schools would also have new requirements related to self-described transgender students and their purported identities, including a requirement that “a dress code adopted or implemented by a local education provider must not create or enforce any rules based on gender.”
Colorado Republican State Representative Jarvis Caldwell said the bill passed the Colorado House Judiciary Committee with seven Democrats in favor and four Republicans opposed. The lawmaker credited Protect Kids Colorado for mounting resistance to the bill with minimal notice.
Some other states controlled by Democrats have passed similar laws restricting parental rights for those who deny the claim that males and females can become members of the opposite sex.
California approved a law last year making them the first state to actively prohibit government schools from informing parents when their children start using different preferred pronouns. The office of California Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom claimed that the new statute “protects the child-parent relationship” and merely prevents schools from “intervening in family matters.”
Many critics of such legislation also note that penalties for “deadnaming and misgendering” have a chilling effect on free expression, especially for Christians who oppose transgenderism.
