Colorado bill adding protections for transgender people — including against “deadnaming” — passes first hurdle

Transgender Coloradans — particularly children and supportive parents — would gain increased legal protections against discrimination under new legislation that cleared its first hurdle in the state House early Wednesday morning.

The party-line vote to advance House Bill 1312 came after 10 hours of dueling testimony from backers who decried anti-transgender discrimination and opponents who invoked parents’ rights and other objections.

The bill is formally named the Kelly Loving Act for a transgender woman killed in the 2022 Club Q nightclub shooting in Colorado Springs. Under the proposal, the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act, which includes gender identity as a protected class, would add intentionally misgendering transgender people or referring to them by their “deadname” — meaning the name they used before they transitioned — to the discriminatory acts covered by the law in public accommodations.

The measure would also require family courts to consider a parent’s intentional deadnaming or misgendering of their transgender child during custody proceedings. It would prohibit courts from using other states’ anti-transgender laws to facilitate transferring custody of a child from one parent to another because the child received gender-affirming care.

“This bill is about ensuring that what we say exists with anti-discrimination is a reality for those who truly live life every day in fear of being discriminating against, retaliated against, harmed, harassed,” said Rep. Lorena Garcia, an Adams County Democrat sponsoring the bill with fellow Democratic Rep. Rebekah Stewart. “This bill is about making sure that what is assumed, whether it’s in rule or because we hear the word ‘anti-discrimination’ … is protected.”

The measure passed the House’s Judiciary Committee 7-4 shortly after midnight Wednesday. It now moves to the full House for the first of two floor votes. Should it clear those, it will go to the Senate to restart the process.

Testimony and debate on the bill began Tuesday afternoon. Supporters — including transgender Coloradans and their advocates — recounted their struggles with discrimination and in accessing gender-affirming care. They pointed to the high suicide rates among transgender people, particularly teens.

“I’m alive today because I had access to gender-affirming care,” Sky Childress said.

Opponents included anti-transgender activists, parents and people who described themselves as “detransitioners” — meaning they’d previously taken social or medical steps to change their gender identity but have since stopped.

They accused the bill sponsors of seeking to infringe on parents’ rights and of being part of a broader effort to “coerce” children.

“I know you want what’s best for these kids and we share in that mutual interest,” said Evan de la Cruz, who testified that they regretted undergoing gender-affirming care. “But please think of who these kids will be in the next 10 to 15 years.”

If it passes into law, HB-1312 would also prohibit schools from having gender-specific dress codes, and it would require a school with a chosen-name policy — used for students who prefer to go by nicknames, for instance — to also be inclusive of transgender students’ preferred names.

Initially, the bill would’ve required all official state forms to give people an option to use their chosen names, as opposed to their legal names. But state officials tacked an eye-watering $14 million price tag for implementation on that provision, presenting a significant financial obstacle in a tight budget year.