Colorado state GOP lawmaker says bill on 'misgendering,' 'deadnaming' children 'weaponizes the courts against parents'

Colorado lawmakers are divided over a Democrat-sponsored bill that would classify "misgendering" and "deadnaming" as discrimination as well as forms of child abuse to be taken into consideration in child custody cases.

One of the bill’s sponsors, Rep. Rebekah Stewart, said that House Bill 25-1312, also known as the The Kelly Loving Act after a transgender-identifying individual killed in a 2022 club shooting in Colorado Springs, "All this does is lay out very clearly that supporting a child's gender identity as a parent is in the best interest of the child and cannot be used against a parent in a custody battle," 9 News reported. 

Stewart said that the provisions in the bill help protect parents who support their trans-identified child. "We are just making it very clear that this is something that may be considered as part of a case and that a parent cannot be punished in any way for actually supporting their child's gender identity."

Republican lawmakers have expressed concerns about how the bill would affect parental rights, with Republican Rep. Chris Richardson arguing on the floor Friday that the bill "fundamentally oversteps the proper role of government" and "threatens parental rights."

Richardson said, "This may allow a parent who may be navigating an incredibly complex issue with their child to lose custody for not affirming their gender identity they may not understand, agree with or believe is in the child's best interest. This is not protecting children. It's weaponizing the courts against parents."

Stewart said that the provision relating to school policies does not change existing parental notification policies for when a child requests to be called a different name. Instead, Stewart said that it ensures that policies are applied consistently to all students. 

In regards to the portion relating to "deadnaming" and "misgendering" being defined in the amended Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act, Stewart said that these protections "'technically and theoretically' exist already but lack clear legal definitions."

"We are simply adding that definition for clarity and for the judicial system to be able to reference."