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One Sunday, four laws and the collapse of middle ground in Colorado politics
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Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

One Sunday, four laws and the collapse of middle ground in Colorado politics

By Jen Schumann | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice With the clock ticking on the legislative session, Colorado Democrats made their move—advancing four of the year’s most polarizing bills in a single day – Sunday. The marathon legislative blitz was notable not only for its controversial content, but for how it was executed: through rare weekend floor time, party-line votes and multiple Rule 16 motions that cut off debate and silenced opposing voices. https://twitter.com/RepCaldwell/status/1908586233632071742 "Because of the actions today, I would request that this bill be read at length—and every other bill after this," said Rep. Ron Weinberg, responding to the procedural move that ended discussion on one of the bills.  House Minority Leader Rose Pugliese added, "Col...
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Cole: HB-1312 turns pronouns into a weapon against parents and schools
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Approved, Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

Cole: HB-1312 turns pronouns into a weapon against parents and schools

By Shaina Cole | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Colorado House Democrats recently leveraged their legislative authority with a calculated one-two punch, invoking Rule 14 on April 4, 2025, to cap debate on House Bill 1312 (HB-1312), the “Kelly Loving Act,” at a scant two hours, then deploying Rule 16 over the weekend to stifle discussion entirely and push the bill to an immediate vote.  These tools, seldom used outside of breaking filibuster gridlock, were not wielded here to clear a clogged calendar but to mute opposition to a measure poised to reshape parental rights, free speech, and family dynamics. This heavy-handed approach stripped away democratic deliberation, a move that should unsettle every Coloradan. This isn’t about streamlining; it’s about dominance. ...
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Enos: Abortion, parental rights and gun grabs—Colorado’s radical trifecta
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Enos: Abortion, parental rights and gun grabs—Colorado’s radical trifecta

By Colleen Enos | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice While continuing to grapple with Colorado’s $1.2 billion dollar shortfall, the state will be losing $250 million in pandemic-related federal funding for healthcare from the American Rescue Plan Act. The federal government is implementing the President’s “Department of Government Efficiency” Cost Efficiency Initiative. Coloradoans may believe that our Democrat-led state legislature will surely cut back on bills with a fiscal impact, but that would be an incorrect assumption; they just tweak the fiscal note. SB25-183, Coverage for Pregnancy Related Services, would be more appropriately named “Taxpayer-funded Abortion Coverage.” This bill adds abortion coverage to Colorado’s state Medicaid insurance. Howev...
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Davis: Democrat lawmakers target faith as discriminatory under HB25-1312
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Davis: Democrat lawmakers target faith as discriminatory under HB25-1312

By Chase Davis | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Colorado is rapidly becoming one of the nation’s most “progressive” states. And by “progressive,” I mean “radically opposed to God, family, life, marriage, and basic human biology and aggressively hostile to anyone who holds historic conservative and Christian beliefs on these issues.” Welcome to the modern Left—this ain’t your grandaddy’s Democrat Party. As a Southern Baptist pastor living and ministering in Boulder, Colorado, I’m on the front lines of the fight to maintain both a gospel and a “creation order” witness in a state that is increasingly hostile to the spiritual message of salvation in Jesus Christ and the natural law. And what Colorado Democrats are trying to do right now, if successful, would destroy the ...
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Lawmakers pitch new insurance fee for wildlife and bike lanes, rural Coloradans cry foul
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Lawmakers pitch new insurance fee for wildlife and bike lanes, rural Coloradans cry foul

By Ali Longwell | The Post Independent Colorado lawmakers are looking to add a fee to car insurance policies that would raise funds for road infrastructure aimed at reducing vehicle collisions with wildlife, pedestrians and cyclists.  The idea is being floated as part of a bill co-sponsored by Reps. Andrew Boesenecker, a Larimer County Democrat, and Meghan Lukens, a Steamboat Springs Democrat, and Sens. Faith Winter, a Front Range Democrat, and Dylan Roberts, a Frisco Democrat.  “This bill creates a sustainable solution to a serious public safety problem,” Lukens said. “This bill will save lives, prevent injuries, reduce insurance costs, and protect the wildlife that defines our state. It’s a responsible investment that pays for itself many times over.”  The “Mot...
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Democrat Rep. Zokaie compares concerned parents to KKK during hearing on HB25-1312
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Approved, Fox News, State

Democrat Rep. Zokaie compares concerned parents to KKK during hearing on HB25-1312

By Jamie Joseph | Fox News A Colorado Democrat likened parent groups to "the KKK" during an hours-long committee hearing for a controversial bill that could see parents accused of "coercive control" in custody fights for using a trans child's "deadname." "I really am curious about how much stakeholdering went on both sides of the issue, and not just one side," Republican state Rep. Jarvis Caldwell said during the hearing, which began Monday night and ran into early Tuesday. "I'm curious with if the businesses in the community were included in these and if parent groups that are not part of the LGBT community if they were involved." Later during the House Judiciary hearing, Democrat state Rep. Yara Zokaie said the committee that night had "heard a lot about stak...
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Second scandal, same party: staff mistreatment allegations mount for Colorado Democrats
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Approved, COLORADO PEAK POLITICS, State

Second scandal, same party: staff mistreatment allegations mount for Colorado Democrats

By Colorado Peak Politics It’s only been a few weeks since Sonya Jaquez Lewis resigned from the Colorado Senate amidst accusations that she mistreated her young employees. Now we learn that House Democrats were also investigating state Rep. Regina English for some bizarre treatment of her aides but kept that unfolding scandal hush hush. Surprisingly, it was the Democrat Mothership that broke the story: A Colorado lawmaker has been accused of retaliating against and mistreating her aides, including documented allegations that she ignored an aide’s complaint of sexual harassment by a relative of the lawmaker last year, The Denver Post has confirmed. Regina English is accused of many things. She is said to have used slurs against LGBTQ+ people, and required her aide...
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Democrats launch legal assault on TABOR: Will the courts undo the will of Colorado voters?
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Approved, denvergazette.com, State

Democrats launch legal assault on TABOR: Will the courts undo the will of Colorado voters?

By Marianne Goodland | Denver Gazette In 2011, a coalition of 33 individuals and groups, including current and former lawmakers, county commission and other elected officials and school districts, sued the state of Colorado, challenging the constitutionality of the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights. A decade later, the lawsuit was dismissed on a technicality: the lawsuit, the federal courts indicated, had the wrong plaintiffs. A state Democratic lawmaker who was part of the legal team in Kerr v. Hickenlooper (later Kerr v. Polis) is now sponsoring a resolution to try again, but with some important differences. Rep. Sean Camacho, D-Denver, sponsored House Joint Resolution 1023, which would require the General Assembly to sue over TABOR's constitutionality in state district court. The...
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Hancock: SB25-086 tramples the Constitution in the name of control
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Approved, Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice, Top Stories

Hancock: SB25-086 tramples the Constitution in the name of control

By Michael A. Hancock | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice How SB25-086 tramples the First, Fourth, and Fifth Amendments in the name of “user protection” In our political age where virtue signaling often masquerades as policymaking, Colorado Senate Bill 25-086, charmingly titled Protections for Users of Social Media, stands as a masterclass in misdirection. Behind its disarming language and so-called concern for user safety lies a deeply troubling expansion of government power—one that threatens to obliterate the digital boundary between individual freedom and state surveillance. Let me be frank: SB25-086 is not about protection—it’s about control. At the heart of the bill is a brazen and unconstitutional attempt to enlist private companies into a pseudo-judicial surveillan...
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Cole: Colorado’s gender bills sideline parents and rush kids into harm
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Cole: Colorado’s gender bills sideline parents and rush kids into harm

By Shaina Cole | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice On Friday, March 28, Colorado legislators introduced House Bill 25-1309 and House Bill 25-1312, proposals crafted to safeguard transgender youth. Their aims are well-meaning: one mandates insurance coverage for gender-affirming treatments such as hormone therapy and surgeries, while the other anchors gender identity within custody law to protect vulnerable children.  Yet, beneath these noble intentions lies a troubling prospect—lasting harm to the very youth they seek to shield, coupled with an alarming shift of authority from parents to the state. Consider HB 25-1309, which compels insurance providers to fund gender-affirming care when deemed medically necessary. The goal is clear: ensure access for transgender youth. H...
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