By BRIAN PORTER | Rocky Mountain Voice
An effort to place two initiatives on the statewide 2024 ballot came up short, but leaders and volunteers of Protect Kids Colorado say they will continue the work toward successful 2026 signature campaigns.
“We’re not going anywhere,” said Erin Lee, one of several leaders of Protect Kids Colorado. “The fire has only just been lit in Colorado.”
In coordination with former Colorado Sen. Kevin Lundberg and other leaders, Protect Kids Colorado attempted to put forward two propositions:
Prop. 142 – Requiring parents of children in public schools to be informed if their child is experiencing “gender incongruence,” a term defined by the initiative as “a difference between a child’s biological [born-with] sex and the child’s perceived or desired gender.”
Prop. 160 – A prohibition of students born male from participating in girls’ sports. It thereby may have solved the boys in girls’ locker rooms issue, because they would no longer be members of the sports team.
Leaders and volunteers who aimed to place the two initiatives on the ballot met in Sedalia, shortly before this weeks state’s deadline for petition signatures to be delivered to the secretary of state.
“This is a movement that is just getting going,” Lundberg said to the volunteers. “This must be addressed if our state is to move forward in the right direction. It is going to take everyone’s effort in some level or another.”
The other leaders listed on the organization’s website include Jeremy Goodall, Mark Spengler and Patty McKernan.
“If you look at the news cycle today when it comes to men in women’s sports, not only the nation is aware but the entire world,” Lundberg said. “The insanity that is being pushed on the kids in our public schools must change.”
While falling short of the petition signature total it needed — this year the total was 124,238 — some progress was made in anticipation of another run at the ballot in 2026.
“We had no money, we are an all volunteer effort, and in less than half of the timeline that we should have had we had an actual chance to get these initiatives on the ballot,” Lee said.
A short window for signature collection lessened the probability of success, and the effort could take full advantage of a longer signature collection calendar beginning in 2025.
“Initiatives are voted on once every two years, but you can collect signatures at anytime during that period,” Lundberg said. “It might be a smart idea not to get locked into the deadline date.”
Protect Kids Colorado may not have a finish line of the two initiatives, he added.
“If we are successful with the two that need to be presented, there’s a whole lot more out there that needs to be addressed,” Lundberg said.
He suggests anyone with an interest in furthering the organizations causes connect with one of the leaders through Protect Kids Colorado.