Bermúdez: Protecting Colorado’s children shouldn’t be a partisan issue

By Alejandro Bermúdez | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice

On November 3, Colorado voters have a remarkable opportunity to do something that should transcend political affiliations: protect children from sexual predators, defend fairness in girls’ sports, and prevent minors from undergoing irreversible sex-change surgeries.

Propositions 133, 134, and 135 are straightforward, common-sense measures. Yet opponents have managed to manufacture alarming scenarios that deserve closer scrutiny.

Proposition 133, the Children Are Not for Sale Act, would impose life imprisonment without parole for child sex trafficking and expand the law to cover those knowingly buying sexual activity with minors.

Critics claim mandatory life sentences could punish trafficking victims themselves, since predators sometimes coerce victims into recruiting other children.

But there is one crucial detail conveniently overlooked: Colorado law already provides an affirmative legal defense for trafficking victims forced or coerced into participating in trafficking. That protection remains in place.

The real question is whether individuals who knowingly buy and sell children for sex deserve anything less than the strongest possible punishment. I believe the answer is obvious.

Proposition 134 would protect girls’ sports by ensuring that female athletic competitions remain reserved for biological females.

Opponents have raised the specter of humiliating, invasive examinations of schoolgirls to establish their biological sex. But the proposition mandates no such examinations.

As Erin Lee, executive director of Protect Kids Colorado, has explained, students already submit physician-signed athletic forms, which could provide a practical verification mechanism. Schools would establish their own procedures without any requirement for invasive physical examinations.

The Denver Gazette, which has endorsed all three measures, was blunter, calling Proposition 134 an end to “the absurd quest by fringe political activists” to let biological boys claiming gender dysphoria compete on otherwise all-girl teams.

This is about fairness, athletic opportunities, scholarships, and the basic rights of girls who deserve to compete on a level playing field.

Proposition 135 would prohibit irreversible surgeries intended to alter minors’ biological sex characteristics in response to their perception of sex or gender.

Critics contend its language is excessively broad and could prohibit legitimate procedures, such as surgery for gynecomastia, a condition involving breast development in adolescent boys.

Yet the measure includes explicit exemptions for persons born with a medically verifiable disorder of sex development and for acquired physical or chemical abnormalities, as well as male circumcision.

Lee has explained that treating gynecomastia is not an attempt to change a child’s sex. Other supporters argue that such treatment falls within the exemptions. The distinction between correcting a physical condition and surgically altering a child’s sex characteristics deserves recognition.

Perhaps the most revealing aspect of these measures is the coalition supporting them.

The feminist Women’s Liberation Front supports protecting minors from unnecessary, permanent medical interventions. Colorado’s Log Cabin Republicans, an LGBT organization, have urged voters to support all three propositions.

And Kara Dansky, a feminist author and former ACLU lawyer, said in a statement circulated by the campaign, “I am a lifelong Democrat and a feminist … I urge all Colorado Democrats to vote yes on 134 and 135 in November.”

When conservative Catholics, lesbian feminists, gay Republicans, and lifelong Democrats can agree on protecting children, perhaps politicians should pay attention.

These propositions are not about left versus right. They concern the fundamental responsibilities of a civilized society: protecting children from exploitation, preserving fairness for girls, and recognizing that irreversible decisions about children’s bodies deserve extraordinary caution.

Colorado voters should reject ideological scare tactics and embrace common sense.

On November 3, vote YES on 133, YES on 134, and YES on 135. Our children deserve nothing less.

Alejandro Bermúdez is a veteran journalist with more than four decades of experience in international news, digital media, TV, and commentary. He was the founding executive director of Catholic News Agency and has written for major English-language publications including The New York Times, the National Catholic Register, and Our Sunday Visitor. Born in Lima, Peru, and now based in Denver, Colorado, he writes on culture, politics, religion, and the ethical implications of artificial intelligence.

Editor’s note: Opinions expressed in commentary pieces are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the management of the Rocky Mountain Voice, but even so we support the constitutional right of the author to express those opinions.