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Hancock: The phrase that shields tyranny behind a slogan
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Approved, Commentary, National, Rocky Mountain Voice, Top Stories

Hancock: The phrase that shields tyranny behind a slogan

By Michael A. Hancock | Commentary, Substack In George Orwell’s 1984, citizens were told that war is peace, freedom is slavery, and ignorance is strength. It was called Newspeak—language engineered to distort thought—and doublethink, the act of believing two contradictory things at once. Today, we don’t need fiction. We have the perpetual news. Across America, mobs swarm immigration offices, smash windows, burn vehicles, blockade highways, and hurl explosives at federal buildings—all while being shielded under the banner of “peaceful protest.” The phrase is repeated so often it’s practically trademarked. Politicians echo it. Journalists parrot it. And poets romanticize it, casting destruction as defiance and rage as righteousness. The public is expected not just to accept the...
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Jacques: Colorado’s speech police aren’t protecting rights—they’re punishing dissent
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Approved, Commentary, State, USA Today

Jacques: Colorado’s speech police aren’t protecting rights—they’re punishing dissent

By Ingrid Jacques | Commentary, USA Today Colorado has threatened to sic the thought police on anyone who doesn't comply by using state-approved language about transgender people. You’d think that after two significant losses at the U.S. Supreme Court, Colorado would tread more carefully with its anti-discrimination laws.  No such luck. A new law, signed by Democratic Gov. Jared Polis in May, expands the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act to make deadnaming and misgendering transgender individuals a punishable offense. California, not surprisingly, has tried something similar but on a more limited basis. The updated Colorado provisions have already attracted lawsuits on the grounds that the law violates the U.S. Constitution, includ...
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False claims, real consequences: Judge rejects activist’s First Amendment defense
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Approved, Local, Rocky Mountain Voice, Top Stories

False claims, real consequences: Judge rejects activist’s First Amendment defense

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice El Paso County judge rejects motion to dismiss defamation suit against Bernadette Guthrie, ruling that calling a school board member a “child predator” is not protected by the First Amendment. For more than a year, Derrick Wilburn – father, community leader and now an elected school board member – was publicly branded a “child predator” by a vocal district parent. The accusations, repeated at school board meetings, online and even in state legislative testimony, painted him as a man who preyed on children.  Wilburn filed a defamation lawsuit in December 2024, seeking accountability. And on April 29, a Colorado judge drew a legal line.  El Paso County District Court Judge Gregory Werner denied defendant Bernadette Guthrie’s motion...
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Free speech fight hits Colorado: XX-XY Athletics sues over HB25-1312
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Approved, Fox News, State

Free speech fight hits Colorado: XX-XY Athletics sues over HB25-1312

By Jackson Thompson | Fox News Brand founder Jennifer Sey says legislation forces Coloradans to 'adhere to an ideology that is in violation of actual truth' EXCLUSIVE: The women's activist sportswear brand XX-XY Athletics is suing the state of Colorado over a recent state law that the company claims would interfere with its ability to market its message.  The lawsuit takes aim at the state for passing a law called HB25-1312 and amending the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act, which defines "gender expression" to include "chosen name" and "how an individual chooses to be addressed." The laws state Coloradans have a right to access "public accommodations and advertising" that are free of discrimination on that basis.  The company's lawsuit claims ...
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Maryland school settles with student suspended for asking about American flag
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Approved, Fox News, National

Maryland school settles with student suspended for asking about American flag

By Chris Papst | Fox 25 News Towson, Md. (WBFF) — It’s a story that grabbed national attention - a Maryland student, and prospective U.S. Marine, suspended while asking why classrooms in his high school did not contain American flags. Project Baltimore first spoke with Parker Jensen in April. Soon after, he sued Baltimore County Public Schools. And now, that lawsuit has been settled. It was just last month when Project Baltimore broke the news that Jensen, a Marine hopeful, was suspended from school for seven days, after he went to Baltimore County Public Schools headquarters to ask why some classrooms at Towson High were missing American flags. According to state law and BCPS school board policy, all classrooms must contain the flag. As a result of that suspension, J...
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Colorado sued over law punishing ‘misgendering’: Doctors, parents cite First Amendment
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Approved, denvergazette.com, State

Colorado sued over law punishing ‘misgendering’: Doctors, parents cite First Amendment

By Marissa Ventrelli | Denver Gazette Several organizations and a western Colorado dermatologist have filed a lawsuit seeking to block specific provisions of a recently signed state law that, as originally introduced, would have defined "deadnaming" and "misgendering" as discriminatory acts but whose final version had been heavily modified.   The plaintiffs in the lawsuit included Defending Education, the Colorado Parent Advocacy Network, Protect Kids Colorado, and Do No Harm. Travis Morrell, a Grand Junction dermatologist and member of Do No Harm, is also a plaintiff. Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser and Colorado Civil Rights Division members are named as defendants. All five groups believe that a person's gender identity "cannot differ from their sex ...
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Colorado Christian camp sues state over gender facility access mandate
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Approved, Fox News, State

Colorado Christian camp sues state over gender facility access mandate

By Jeffrey Clark | Fox News A Christian camp that has been operating since 1948 in Colorado is suing the state after the camp was told that it had to accommodate gender expression in bathrooms and a variety of other spaces.  "They feel like they're honoring God in what they're doing, and I feel like they should do that, to operate in a way that's consistent with that," camp volunteer and mother Leah Rohwer told CBS News in an interview.  The camp, known as Camp IdRaHaje, which is short for "I'd Rather Have Jesus," has refused to obey the state government's demands that it accommodate gender expression in camp facilities.  It is a conflict that is personal for Rohwer, who told CBS that she has a family member who identifies as transge...
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Christian Camp IdRaHaJe sues Colorado over forced gender policy: ‘Let us uphold biblical truth’
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Approved, Local, National Catholic Register

Christian Camp IdRaHaJe sues Colorado over forced gender policy: ‘Let us uphold biblical truth’

By Tyler Arnold | National Catholic Register A Christian summer camp network is suing the Colorado government over a state rule allowing males who identify as girls to be given access to girls’ showers, dressing areas, and sleeping facilities. Camp IdRaHaJe — which separates private facilities on the basis of sex rather than self-asserted “gender identity” — filed the federal lawsuit against Colorado’s Department of Early Childhood on Monday. The camp, which derives its name from the 1922 Christian hymn “I’d Rather Have Jesus,” is protesting a regulation that requires access to gender-separated showers, sleeping facilities, changing rooms, and bathrooms in all children’s resident camps on the basis of “an individual’s gender identity” even when the gender identity is dif...
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Flawed filing stalls Peters’ release bid as DOJ weighs in and President Trump demanding action
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Approved, coloradopolitics.com, State

Flawed filing stalls Peters’ release bid as DOJ weighs in and President Trump demanding action

By Michael Karlik | Colorado Politics A federal judge on Monday warned former Mesa County clerk Tina Peters that her request to be released while she appeals her 2024 criminal convictions appears to be brought improperly and may be subject to dismissal. Jurors convicted Peters for her role in a security breach of her office's voting equipment. She is currently serving a nine-year sentence of incarceration. While the state's Court of Appeals reviews her conviction, Peters has filed a federal petition for "habeas corpus," a legal tool used to challenge one's confinement. Specifically, Peters is seeking to be released on bond while her appeal moves forward in state court. In a May 5 order, Chief U.S. Magistrate Judge Scott T. Varholak identified a problem with the petition....
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Judge overrules Elizabeth School District, forces return of books parents objected to
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Approved, denvergazette.com, Local

Judge overrules Elizabeth School District, forces return of books parents objected to

By Michael Karlik | Denver Gazette An Elbert County school district confirmed on Friday to a federal judge that it has restored 19 restricted books to library shelves after she found the school board likely violated the First Amendment rights of students and authors by removing the titles for ideological reasons. Earlier this week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit declined to suspend, or stay, a preliminary injunction issued by U.S. District Court Judge Charlotte N. Sweeney. Previously, Sweeney ordered the Elizabeth School District to return the restricted books to libraries, and she set a specific date of April 5. The 10th Circuit put that order temporarily on hold while it took an initial look at the case, before ultimately deciding against intervention...
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