Colorado lawmakers strip trans rights bill’s most controversial provisions before overnight vote

Provision that would enact new antidiscrimination protections for transgender Coloradans passed a Senate committee early Thursday morning after its backers altered the majority of controversial provisions to assuage advocacy groups concerns House Bill is now two votes and several procedural smoothing away from Gov Jared Polis desk The proposal would expand the state s antidiscrimination law to include intentionally repeatedly deadnaming or misgendering a transgender person The measure passed the House a month ago but has since hit whitecaps Two weeks ago a few prominent LGBT groups began to hedge their previous advocacy over fears of legal backlash Those concerns prompted substantial changes to the bill early Thursday after hours of testimony in a marathon hearing that had begun Wednesday afternoon HB- passed Senate Judiciary on a party-line - vote just before a m Should it pass into law the bill would still protect transgender people from being misgendered or deadnamed or referred to by the name they used before they transitioned in discrimination laws for places like work and school It would also enact shield-law protections for Coloradans against other states anti-transgender policies and it would make changes to policies for name alterations on marriage certificates and gender markers on driver s licenses But the bill s Democratic sponsors Sens Chris Kolker and Faith Winter fully removed the bill s the greater part controversial provision a new requirement for family-court judges to consider one parent s misgendering or deadnaming of their child in custody proceedings They also stripped language related to publishing materials that deadname or misgender someone We want to make sure that we re all seen as equals Kolker disclosed And that s what this bill is doing As the hearing wound down Democratic Sen Dylan Roberts commented specific concerns were persisting Roberts pressed one of the bill s proponents about the measure s shield law provision which would prohibit Colorado personnel from removing a child receiving gender-affirming care from a parent s home because of another state s laws Roberts argued the provision may violate interstate agreements and would put the state at immense legal pitfall He declared he understood that Polis was worried too and Roberts longed to know why proponents wouldn t just remove that section Erika Unger who works for a law firm supporting the bill replied that Polis office has certainly expressed concerns in the past few days but that the governor hasn t explained he would veto HB- Roberts who later voted to pass the bill announced it would be disappointing to the population if the bill were not to pass given the notable concern from Polis That prompted a transgender woman to interject As one of those population members that was also stakeholdered on this bill and as someone who grew up in rural Alabama someone who was persecuted by my state s laws I absolutely feel this section matters very much to me Sky Childress notified Roberts I do not want this section struck from the bill whatsoever A Polis spokeswoman was not able directly to provide comment Thursday morning though she indicated that Polis wasn t opposed to the proposal Winter mentioned Thursday that supporters were meeting with Polis office later that day and that she wasn t worried As the hearing began Wednesday hundreds of people had signed up and lined up to testify filling two overflow rooms and prompting the committee s chair to cap testimony at four hours each for supporters and for opponents Related Articles Don t override Polis s veto on a bill that slows down the populace s access to records Opinion Live updates Colorado trans rights bill is set for changes sponsors say as Senate committee hears testimony With drop in Medicaid-covered patients Colorado safety-net clinics seek help from lawmakers Gov Jared Polis promotion uncertain as ban on program used by landlords to set rents nears finish line Live updates Colorado lawmakers kill new car insurance fee send voting rights bill to Gov Polis Proponents revealed the protections were vital to prevent anti-transgender discrimination in schools workplaces or in transgender Coloradans daily lives Supporters disclosed those greater protections were especially vital now amid the Trump administration s open hostility to transgender Americans Protesters took to the Capitol procedures before the meeting criticizing HB- in religious terms and likening its supporters to communists Much of the community criticism during the hearing centered on the soon-to-be-stricken family court provisions as well as general opposition to gender-affirming care s availability for minors One father testified against the bill Hours later his transgender son and the child s mother spoke in favor of it Sen Lisa Frizell a Castle Rock Republican who voted against the bill reported the original provision related to family courts had stoked fear among selected parents I understand that we are trying to create an conditions for everyone in the state of Colorado where they feel safe she revealed And I get that But you can t at the same time create an conditions where the vast majority of the people who live here and have children live in fear of what we are going to do in this building The governor s prospective concerns are a new wrench in what s become a winding road for HB- After the bill passed the House in early April One Colorado a prominent LGBTQ advocacy group abruptly pulled back its backing citing fears of a legal backlash The head of the Gill Foundation a prominent funder of LGTBQ causes also called bill sponsors to express reservations though a Gill spokesman later explained the official made the call as a private citizen One Colorado did not testify Wednesday nor did any other skeptical LGBTQ group Stay up-to-date with Colorado Politics by signing up for our weekly newsletter The Spot