Rocky Mountain Voice

Tag: First amendment

After Supreme Court ruling Colorado advances controversial counseling and parental rights bills
Christian Home Educators of Colorado, Approved, Commentary, State

After Supreme Court ruling Colorado advances controversial counseling and parental rights bills

By Colleen Enos | Commentary, Christian Home Educators of Colorado Colorado may go down in history as the most ideologically extreme state in the nation. Between throwing President Trump off the ballot in 2024, persecuting Christian bakers and graphic designers, and banning free speech in religious counseling for minors dealing with sexual identity issues, Colorado is consistently striking out. The decisions made by our legal institutions are continually being overturned by the United States Supreme Court on basic constitutional arguments. Let’s take the state’s radical positions on gender theory. Just two weeks ago, the Supreme Court ruled 8-1 to reverse the Tenth Circuit decision on Colorado’s law banning conversion therapy for minors. The Court held that the Colorado...
Congress Challenges Colorado Court Rule Limiting Immigration Enforcement Access
The Denver Gazette, Approved, State

Congress Challenges Colorado Court Rule Limiting Immigration Enforcement Access

By Nicole C. Brambila | The Denver Gazette The U.S. House Judiciary Committee is seeking information from Colorado’s court administrator regarding a new requirement that attorneys certify they will not use court data for immigration enforcement, arguing it unlawfully obstructs federal law and compels political speech tied to the state’s “sanctuary” policies. Colorado, a blue state that has passed “sanctuary” laws, has been in the crosshairs of the Trump administration, which has cracked down on illegal immigration. Colorado officials, meanwhile, have adopted a confrontational stance against both the administration and Trump’s policies, routinely criticizing the president and suing over an array of issues. Broadly speaking, “sanctuary” policies restrict or prohibit coop...
Colorado Lawmakers Open Door To Unlimited Conversion Therapy Lawsuits After Supreme Court Ruling
Complete Colorado, Approved, State

Colorado Lawmakers Open Door To Unlimited Conversion Therapy Lawsuits After Supreme Court Ruling

By Savana Kascak | Complete Colorado DENVER–Despite the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) recently slapping down Colorado’s ban on so-called “conversion therapy,” legislative Democrats are taking yet another swing at influencing conversations mental health professionals have with clients around gender indentity. This time around, it’s the threat of lawsuits at any time in the future, and with no limit on potential damages. As previously reported by Complete Colorado, SCOTUS in March struck down a 2019 statute barring state licensed therapists from engaging in “efforts to change an individual’s sexual orientation, including efforts to change behaviors or gender expressions or to eliminate or reduce sexual or romantic attraction”  The court held t...
Colorado Faces Backlash Over Law Limiting Attorney Cooperation With Federal Authorities
Fox News, Approved, Commentary, National

Colorado Faces Backlash Over Law Limiting Attorney Cooperation With Federal Authorities

By Jonathan Turley | Commentary, Fox News New law forces lawyers to certify they won't share court data with immigration officials. Colorado's tourism slogan, "It's Our Nature," has a menacing meaning for free speech advocates. Colorado is now arguably the most anti-free speech state in the union, pushing an array of measures attacking those with opposing social and political views. The irony is that the state has proved a bonanza for free speech with spectacular legal failures that reaffirmed rather than restricted the First Amendment. Now, the Democratic legislature and governor are back with new unconstitutional measures, including a requirement that lawyers not share information with federal immigration officials as a condition for filing with state courts. ...
Federal Disinformation Initiative Flagged For Targeting U.S. Media Despite Assurances
The Federalist, Approved, National

Federal Disinformation Initiative Flagged For Targeting U.S. Media Despite Assurances

By Margot Cleveland | The Federalist The evidence uncovered during litigation should shake Americans awake to the threat to their liberties. Staff with the Global Engagement Center (“GEC”) told a State Department official that its testbed platform “will NOT focus on US audiences,” but then proceeded to fund a trial targeting The Blaze — a Texas-based media outlet. The Federalist uncovered this detail during discovery in its lawsuit against the State Department and the GEC, which the plaintiffs settled last week after the Defendants agreed to detailed prophylactic measures to prevent similar violations of Americans’ First Amendment rights. The Federalist, along with The Daily Wire, sued the State Department and GEC in December of 2023, after learni...
Colorado lawmakers move to sidestep Supreme Court ruling on therapy speech
Sey Anything, Approved, Commentary, State

Colorado lawmakers move to sidestep Supreme Court ruling on therapy speech

By Jennifer Sey | Commentary, Sey Everything The Colorado legislature is attempting to sidestep the Supreme Court ruling with a new "conversion therapy" lawsuit bill The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on March 31, 2026, in Chiles v. Salazar (8-1 decision, with Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson dissenting) that Colorado’s 2019 ban on “conversion therapy” for minors violates the First Amendment’s free-speech protections as applied to talk therapy. (I wrote about it here.) The Supreme Court’s ruling said the Colorado law was unconstitutional because it constituted “viewpoint discrimination.” The Supreme Court made it clear that talk therapy is protected speech, not “conduct.” But Colorado refuses to accept the Supreme Court’s ruling. Instead, the insane state that I l...
Attorneys raise concerns over certification tied to Colorado court system access
Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Attorneys raise concerns over certification tied to Colorado court system access

By Shaina Cole | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice Colorado attorneys are starting to push back after a certification prompt began appearing when they log into the state’s court e-filing system. The requirement traces back to Senate Bill 25-276 and related statutes, including C.R.S. § 24-74-105, which deal with how the state handles nonpublic personal identifying information. Under that law, access to certain data comes with a certification—made under penalty of perjury—about how it will be used. On paper, the statute applies broadly to third parties accessing protected data. In practice, though, the certification has now been built into Colorado Courts E-Filing (CCE), meaning attorneys are being asked to agree to it just to get into the system. What the law require...
Tina Peters convictions upheld, sentence thrown out and case sent back to Mesa County court
Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Tina Peters convictions upheld, sentence thrown out and case sent back to Mesa County court

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice Tina Peters remains convicted—but the case that made her a national figure isn’t over. A Colorado appeals court upheld every conviction against the former Mesa County clerk Thursday, while also throwing out her sentence and ordering resentencing after finding the trial judge improperly weighed her speech about election fraud. The court laid it out over 78 pages—and shut down almost every major argument Peters brought forward. Judges rejected her claim that a presidential pardon could wipe out state convictions. They also rejected her argument that she was acting under federal authority. The convictions stayed. But the sentence didn’t. The ruling leaves Peters’ criminal convictions fully intact while reopening one of the m...
High Court Strikes Down Colorado Therapy Law in 8-1 Free Speech Ruling
The Daily Signal, Approved, State

High Court Strikes Down Colorado Therapy Law in 8-1 Free Speech Ruling

By Fred Lucas | The Daily Signal The Supreme Court held in an 8-1 ruling on Tuesday that a Colorado ban on “conversion therapy” for counselors unlawfully regulates speech and is viewpoint discrimination.  Justice Neil Gorsuch, a President Donald Trump appointee, issued the majority opinion. Justices Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor—both appointees of President Barack Obama—issued concurring opinions.  Only Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson—an appointee of President Joe Biden—dissented.  The Chiles v. Salazar case involved a challenge to a Colorado law that allows licensed counselors to address issues of sexuality and gender only from the state’s approved perspective.  READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT THE DAILY SIGNAL
Federal Decree Limits Government Role In Social Media Moderation
Just The News, Approved, National

Federal Decree Limits Government Role In Social Media Moderation

By Greg Piper | Just the News 10-year agreement binds surgeon general, CDC, DHS's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. Feds agree not to stop Louisiana, Missouri and individual plaintiffs from seeking attorney's fees as "prevailing parties." Nearly two years after the Supreme Court killed free speech, in the telling of future National Institutes of Health Director Jay Bhattacharya, by letting the Biden administration resume pressuring tech platforms to censor disfavored narratives on COVID-19, elections and Hunter Biden, the Trump administration has made the plaintiffs' wildest dreams come true. U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty, who imposed the sweeping preliminary injunction on the feds before the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals n...