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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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Clock runs out on social media bill: lawmakers shield themselves and Polis from historic override
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Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Clock runs out on social media bill: lawmakers shield themselves and Polis from historic override

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice The Senate overrode the governor’s veto. The House never even had to say no. In Colorado politics, sometimes the clock matters more than the votes. Without casting a single "no" vote, Colorado lawmakers on April 28 killed a bipartisan attempt to override Governor Jared Polis’ veto of a social media regulation bill. Just days earlier, the Senate had voted 29–6 to override the veto of Senate Bill 25-086, marking the state's first successful chamber override of a policy bill in more than a decade.  But when the bill reached the House, members voted 51–13 to lay over the override until after the legislative session ended. As reported by The Colorado Sun, the maneuver guaranteed the bill’s death without a formal vote, allowing lawmakers to av...
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SCOTUS to hear religious expression case on allowing explicit LGBTQIA+ books in schools
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SCOTUS to hear religious expression case on allowing explicit LGBTQIA+ books in schools

By Hannah Nightingale | The Post Millennial The Supreme Court will hear arguments on Tuesday in a case brought forth by Maryland parents against Montgomery County Board of Education members over the mandated inclusion of storybooks that "celebrate gender transitions, explore Pride parades, and introduce same-sex romance between young children." The case was brought against the board by Muslim parents Tamer Mahboud and Enak Barakat, Catholic and Ukrainian Orthodox parents Jeff and Svitlana Roman, and Catholic Chris and Melissa Persak, all of whom have children in the county, as well as the unincorporated association Kids First, which was formed to "protect parental opt-out rights in the Montgomery County schools." In their petition to the Supreme Court, which w...
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Hancock: HB25-1312 replaces truth with dogma and calls it progress
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Approved, Colorado Politics, Commentary, State

Hancock: HB25-1312 replaces truth with dogma and calls it progress

By Michael A. Hancock | Commentary, Colorado Politics From the rugged ridgelines of the Rockies now echoes a different kind of thunder — not from the skies above, but from the marble halls of Colorado’s State Capitol, where lawmakers are ushering in a bill that feels less like legislation and more like dogma. House Bill 25-1312, ostentatiously named the “Kelly Loving Act,” is heralded as a civil rights measure. But dig past the buzzwords and you’ll find something far more troubling: a secular creed imposed with such fervor it borders on religious zealotry — and as such, possibly violates the U.S. Constitution’s Establishment Clause. At the heart of the bill is a sweeping redefinition of “coercive control” in family law. If passed, courts would be mandated to treat “deadnaming” and...
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Over 20 Colorado pastors unite in urgent call to action against HB25-1312
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Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Over 20 Colorado pastors unite in urgent call to action against HB25-1312

By Jen Schumann | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice “If you don’t speak up now, it may be too late.” That’s the message from a growing coalition of Colorado pastors urging fellow faith leaders to take a public stand against HB25-1312 — a bill they say undermines parental rights, criminalizes biblical truth and puts families at risk. Pastor Jeff Anderson, Senior Advisor for Faith Outreach to Congressman Jeff Crank, sent a letter Friday afternoon to pastors across Colorado urging them to speak out against the bill.  “We want to bring to your attention a critical issue affecting parental rights in Colorado,” Anderson wrote. “This bill includes provisions that could have significant implications for parents and families.” The bill, titled “Legal Protections for Transge...
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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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Pastor Bob: For such a time as this, we must lift our voices
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Approved, Commentary, National, Rocky Mountain Voice

Pastor Bob: For such a time as this, we must lift our voices

By Rev. Robert Babcox | Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice I have been asked: should Christians be involved in politics? Short answer — yes! Oh some may blurt out 2 Corinthians 6:16 in response: "What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: ‘I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God and they will be my people.’ Therefore, come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you." This does not preclude us from voicing and practicing the way and will of God. Remember what Christ said in John 20:21: "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you." And with that, he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit." ...
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