Just as commonsense, reality-based reforms gain momentum nationwide, Colorado lawmakers have raced in the opposite direction — pushing transgender legislation that defies reason, conscience, and the Constitution.

For Coloradans who still believe in parental rights and free speech, the state’s rapid slide into a legal and cultural dystopia feels less like policymaking and more like a hostile takeover.

This agenda is not about tolerance. Its advocates want dominion over our children, our families, our language, and our wallets.

Transgender activists dominate both chambers of the Colorado General Assembly and occupy the governor’s mansion. Whatever agenda they set — no matter how extreme — they have the votes to pass. And this session, they delivered. Some proposals were so radical that even California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) refused to sign similar measures.

Too extreme for California

Lawmakers passed two sweeping bills. HB1312 effectively criminalizes dissent, while HB1309 compels taxpayers and private insurers to fund transgender medical procedures.

And if that weren’t enough, the state now boasts a “trans continental pipeline” — designed to attract minors and adults from other states seeking gender transitions.

HB1312 drew national attention for its blatant assault on speech and parental rights. The bill bans “deadnaming” and “misgendering,” even in private settings. Parents who decline to affirm their child’s gender identity could face accusations of abuse and risk losing custody. Schools and businesses must adopt ideologically driven language, regardless of biological fact — or face lawsuits for discrimination.

When critics raised legitimate concerns about the erosion of parental rights, supporters responded by comparing parental rights groups to the Ku Klux Klan and Nazis.

Facing growing national backlash, some transgender advocacy groups quietly expressed concern over the bill’s visibility. Lawmakers responded with superficial amendments, hoping to defuse opposition. The changes amounted to political theater — and nothing more.

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Lawmakers removed the explicit bans on “deadnaming” and “misgendering” from HB131, but they didn’t abandon the agenda. Instead, they embedded new “rights” into the bill’s anti-discrimination section, including the right to use a “chosen name” and self-selected pronouns. In effect, the bill still prohibits deadnaming and misgendering — just under different language.

In practice, this means that if a public school student adopts a new name or pronouns, and a parent declines to affirm that change, the state could treat the parent as discriminatory. That refusal could trigger a state investigation. If authorities deem the parent abusive, the child could be removed from the home.

Amendments or not, HB1312 remains a dangerous overreach — an overt attempt to impose radical gender ideology through state power. It violates core constitutional protections and intrudes on the most basic parental rights.

HB1309, though less publicized, poses an equally serious threat. It mandates that health insurance plans — and by extension, taxpayers — fund any transgender medical intervention imaginable, from puberty blockers to hormones to surgeries. Yet according to a recent report from the Department of Health and Human Services, these procedures can cause lasting physical and psychological harm.

Gov. Jared Polis (D) has already signed HB1312 into law. It’s only a matter of time before he signs HB1309.

Building the transgender ‘pipeline’

Colorado’s so-called “trans continental pipeline” became official last year. Marketed as a sanctuary from “unsafe situations and political climates,” the program funnels transgender individuals into the state through an organized four-step relocation plan. Activists behind the pipeline once operated covertly on Tinder, the dating platform. Now they run a public website promoting the service.

The pipeline offers applicants help with moving, housing, employment, and access to hormone replacement therapy — all under the banner of “care.” Organizers boast that Colorado ranks among 14 states offering what they call the nation’s “best legal protections for LGBTQ+ individuals.”

In reality, Colorado’s legislature and governor have fully aligned themselves with radical activists bent on transforming the state into a haven for gender ideology — at the expense of free speech, parental authority, and basic biological reality.

This agenda is not about tolerance. It’s about control. Its advocates want dominion over our children, our families, our language, and our wallets.

Silence is no longer an option. Americans of goodwill must reject the bullying tactics of transgender ideologues and stand firm for truth, for parental rights, and for the future of their communities.