A group of Colorado politicians has filed a federal complaint against them, alleging they suppressed the right to free speech of those opposed to a bill that would allow trans people who have been found guilty of crimes from changing their names legally during public sessions.
The problem claimed that defendants are using their legal standing to “put a finger on the size of the government’s debate about transgenderism” by Colorado legislators and transgender advocates.
By prohibiting “misgendering” or “deadnaming,” and otherwise requiring people to express devotion to transgender ideology under the pretext of “decorum” or “decorum,” the problem continued.” They have prescribed how reviewers of transsexuals must present their sights during the public- evidence percentage of commission hearings before the Colorado Legislature.”
The bill’s reviewers claimed that it would prioritize the freedom of offenders over those of patients. They also previously stated that the costs should not be named after a criminal, despite raising concerns about public safety.
Followers countered that changing the name would not have an impact on a felon’s criminal record, arguing instead that it would continue to follow the man because a Social Security number does not alter nor would prints. They even accused critics of worry-mongering.
The Institute for Free Speech ‘ complaint, filed on behalf of Gays Against Groomers and the Rocky Mountain Women’s Network, seeks to impose speaker restrictions on using the terms “misgendering” and “deadnaming” when referring to transgender people, as required by Colorado politicians.
“Misgendering” refers to assigning the bad identity to someone and “deadnaming” means using an individual’s birth name, rather than the name the person adopted as part of the gender change.
Endel “Dell” Kolde, lead counsel for Gays Against Groomers and the Rocky Mountain Women’s Network, said listeners in support of the costs were permitted to give testimony — but not his customers.
“We’re merely asking for similar treatment”, Kolde said.
Citizens have the opportunity to voice their opinions on proposed regulations while appearing at a congressional hearing, as well as have their opinions taken into account in the legislative record.
A man convicted of a criminal has formally revert to a name other than the one the offender was convicted under under Colorado rules by presenting “good reason” evidence. The bill would include gender identity as a good cause for a name change if approved and signed into law.
The bill has been dubbed “Tiara’s Law” after Tiara Latrice Kelley, a transgender drag queen and Club Q performer who owns Latrice Kelley Productions, a Denver company that produces LGBTQ+ events.
A document shared with The Denver Gazette said Kelley has been convicted multiple times in Florida under the legal name “Duane Powell” for a variety of infractions, including cocaine distribution, domestic abuse, exposing genitalia, prostitution, forgery, providing false information to police, and driving without a valid license.
This does allow people to conceal their past, according to the statement.
Opponents of the bill contend that changing someone’s legal name without having their criminal history follow them could put the public at risk, especially women and children, depending on the crime.
The founder of Rocky Mountain Women’s Network, Christina Goeke, who opposes expanding transgender rights, said she opposes changing the legal names of transgender people who have been found guilty of felonies.
“It puts the public in more danger because we don’t give each other social security numbers, we give each other names”, Goeke said.
Rocky Mountain Women’s Network describes itself a group that works to protect women and girl’s” sex-based rights to female-only sports, spaces, and resources”.
Rich Guggenheim, a Colorado member of Gays Against Groomers, echoed that sentiment.
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Given the political climate surrounding gender-affirming and transgender equality, Guggenheim said he is also concerned about safeguarding the LBTBQ+ community as a gay man.
The fact that this allows people to conceal their past is our main concern, Guggenheim said.
Created in 2022, Gays Against Groomers is a nonprofit organization comprised of “gays against the sexualization, indoctrination, and medicalization of children”, according to the group’s Instagram page. The organization is known for opposing “gender-affirming care” for minors, which includes social, psychological, or medical interventions for transgender people, such as hormone therapy and surgical procedures, and for criticizing Drag Queen Story Hour events.
“I don’t want people to think that this is an attack on transgender people, it is not”, Guggenheim said.
Because they used a male pronoun for Kelley, the complaint claimed, lawmakers prevented Goeke and Guggenheim from speaking at House and Senate Judiciary Committee meetings in January and March.
According to the complaint, portions of Goeke’s testimony were removed from the official audio recording of the Senate hearing.
The complaint lists as defendants some of Colorado’s most progressive lawmakers, including state Rep. Leslie Herod, D-Denver, the first openly gay African-American to be elected to Colorado’s state legislature.
Democratic lawmakers Rep. Lorena Garcia and Sen. Dafna Michaelson Jenet, who are also sponsors of the bill, have been named defendants in the federal lawsuit.
The Denver Gazette reached out by phone and email to all of the named defendants, but none responded.
Republicans and Democrats debated the bill in the state House on March 1.
“You’re taking one group of people and saying they deserve more ability, more opportunity to be able to hide their criminal record” over all other felons, who would also want to hide a criminal record, said Rep. Scott Bottoms, R-Colorado Springs. Rep. Ryan Armagost, R-Berthoud, added the bill “chooses the wrong victims: the perpetrators of crime, not the actual victims”.
People should not have to live under the shadow of their mistakes, countered Rep. Brianna Titone, D-Arvada, who is transgender.
There is no greater individual thought than the right to self-determination and name oneself, according to Assistant Majority Leader Jennifer Bacon, D-Denver, who added that “people are being harmed” for saying they want equal protection under the law.
Government cannot control how someone wants to be identified, she said.
This bill does not allow anyone to hide, Rep. Lorena Garcia, D-Westminster, also insisted.
House Speaker Julie McCluskie, D-Dillon, halted the discussion a number of times after lawmakers made remarks that she described as objectionable from both Republican and Democratic lawmakers.
House Bill HB 1071 has passed out of both the state House and Senate.
Legislators in Colorado have taken into account a number of transgender issues during the regular session this year, which started in January. These include bills that would create a task force for the Colorado Department of Education to examine how best to put non-legal name change policies for students into effect.
