Rocky Mountain Voice

Tag: First amendment

Over 20 Colorado pastors unite in urgent call to action against HB25-1312
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...
Cole: HB-1312 turns pronouns into a weapon against parents and schools
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. ...
Pastor Bob: For such a time as this, we must lift our voices
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." ...
More than a hat: How Bernie Lake’s fight for health became a political battleground
Approved, Local, Rocky Mountain Voice, Top Stories

More than a hat: How Bernie Lake’s fight for health became a political battleground

By Jen Schumann | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice After fighting a cancer battle, Bernie Lake reclaimed her life while sporting her Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) hat. After breast cancer surgery, she returned to the Durango Community Recreation Center for her first post-treatment workout, determined to rebuild her strength.  Lake had been wearing her MAHA hat since July. "After the first assassination attempt on Trump, I was outraged that our political differences had gotten to such a level," Lake said. "People need to see different political views where they live. I don’t care if you like Trump or not—we should be able to coexist." Silent disapproval was common. "Not one person had said a word to my face before. Plenty of snickers, plenty of side-eyes, but neve...
Hate or free speech? CMU students react to local Turning Point USA polls
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Hate or free speech? CMU students react to local Turning Point USA polls

By Jen Schumann | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice Few things stir debate on college campuses like politics—and at CMU, a student group’s whiteboard polls have done just that. Turning Point USA’s Colorado Mesa University chapter (TPUSA CMU) has sparked discussion after posting a series of provocative whiteboard poll questions in the university’s cafeteria.  Some students view the questions as open discussion starters, while others see them as hate speech meant to provoke. “Some of the questions pertaining to immigrants and other situations going on, you have to understand a lot of people are going through this personally,” CMU student Welam Agamba told KKCO 11 News. Founded by Charlie Kirk in 2012, TPUSA is known for challenging anti-American perspectives on colle...
Is Tina Peters’ life at risk in jail? Attorneys sound the alarm on her health decline
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Is Tina Peters’ life at risk in jail? Attorneys sound the alarm on her health decline

By Jen Schumann | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice Former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters’ time in Larimer County Jail is taking a toll, according to her legal team and supporters. They say she’s experiencing memory loss, declining health and mistreatment—claims that have only fueled concerns about her condition. With growing pressure on Governor Jared Polis to grant a pardon, Peters’ case is becoming a test of justice, fairness and political influence in Colorado. Attorney John Case, who has been visiting Peters regularly, described noticeable changes in her health since she was taken into custody. "I visit Tina approximately weekly, the most recent visit was Sunday, March 16. I notice that Tina has difficulty with memory and word finding, compared to her cognitive abil...
White House Correspondence cartel is freaking out because it’s losing power and control, not press freedom
Approved, National, The Federalist

White House Correspondence cartel is freaking out because it’s losing power and control, not press freedom

By Elle Purnell | Commentary, The Federalist During all the meltdowns about Donald Trump’s election being a “threat to democracy,” someone observantly noted that all the panic made sense once you replaced the word “democracy” with “bureaucracy.” Now, as D.C. journo types panic about the threat to a “free press” posed by Trump’s breakup of the White House Correspondents’ Association monopoly, replacing “free press” with “corporate media’s control of news narratives” provides similar clarity. On Tuesday, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced the White House would have the final say on which reporters have access to President Trump in the “most intimate spaces” such as the Oval Office as part of the 13-member press pool. Gatekeeping this access was previously the purview of the gr...
Kaminsky: Obama’s ‘censorship’ office goes bankrupt and is closing up shop
Approved, Commentary, National, The Daily Signal

Kaminsky: Obama’s ‘censorship’ office goes bankrupt and is closing up shop

By Gabe Kaminsky | Commentary, The Daily Signal The Global Engagement Center, an office housed within the State Department and aiming to thwart disinformation and misinformation, has been forced by Congress to close up shop. It’s no mystery why; the taxpayer-backed GEC violated its mandate to work only overseas and devolved into a partisan enabler of speech suppression in the United States. Here’s how. Founded in 2016 and technically the product of an Obama-era executive order on counterterrorism, the GEC lapsed in December and lost congressional funding. READ THE FULL COMMENTARY AT THE DAILY SIGNAL Editor’s note: Opinions expressed in commentary pieces are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of t...
Spending bill subsidizes State Department’s conservative censorship slush fund
Approved, Breitbart, National

Spending bill subsidizes State Department’s conservative censorship slush fund

By Bradley Jaye | Breitbart The government funding bill includes a one-year extension of the State Department’s Global Engagement Center (GEC), an agency that funds organizations that censor conservative media including Breitbart News. The provision extending funding for the program is on page 139 of the 1,537-page continuing resolution, which was unveiled Tuesday night just hours before the House will vote on the short-term spending bill. The Washington Examiner’s Gabe Kaminsky posted on Twitter that the bill “includes a one-year extension on the State Department’s Global Engagement Center — the agency me and Matt Taibbi reported has funded speech suppression efforts and is being sued by the Federalist and Daily Wire.” READ THE FULL STORY AT BREITBART
FCC’s Brendan Carr: big tech must dismantle ‘censorship cartel’ including ‘Orwellian’ newsGuard
Approved, Breitbart, National

FCC’s Brendan Carr: big tech must dismantle ‘censorship cartel’ including ‘Orwellian’ newsGuard

By Sean Moran | Breitbart Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Brendan Carr on Friday called on big tech platforms to dismantle the “censorship cartel,” charging that American democracy depends on it. Carr states that the tech Masters of the Universe, in conjunction with “the orwellian-named NewsGuard,” fact checking groups, and ad agencies, have enforced “one-sided narratives.” “Facebook, Google, Apple, Microsoft & others have played central roles in the censorship cartel. The Orwellian named NewsGuard along with “fact checking” groups & ad agencies helped enforce one-sided narratives. The censorship cartel must be dismantled,” Carr wrote on X/Twitter. Carr wrote to Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, and Apple CEO Tim Cook ...