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Tag: Parental Rights

Anderson: Education dollars should help all students perform, while lawmakers focus on funding gender ideology
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Approved, Commentary, State, The Business Times

Anderson: Education dollars should help all students perform, while lawmakers focus on funding gender ideology

By Christy Anderson | Commentary, Business Times Let’s look at the facts. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, in 2024, only 36 percent of Colorado’s fourth-graders read at a proficient level, and just 42 percent are proficient in math. These numbers should alarm every parent, educator, policymaker and taxpayer. Beneath the surface of annual graduation celebrations lies a troubling reality: Many students are not prepared for life after high school. Colleges are restructuring their curricula to accommodate lower proficiency levels, and remedial classes are becoming the norm, not the exception. As an educator with 25 years of experience in Mesa County Valley School District 51 and a Realtor who works closely with families across our community, I’ve seen firstha...
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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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Parents and Pastors Rally at Capitol to Stop HB25-1312 from Becoming Law
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Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Parents and Pastors Rally at Capitol to Stop HB25-1312 from Becoming Law

By Rocky Mountain Voice Staff A coalition of pastors, parents, and constitutional advocates will gather Thursday on the West Steps of the Colorado State Capitol to oppose HB25-1312, the controversial “Kelly Loving Act” that critics say represents a direct attack on parental rights, religious liberty, and free speech. The event—organized by Fight 1312, a Colorado-based grassroots movement—will begin with a rally and prayer walk at 1:00 PM, followed by a press conference at 2:30 PM featuring local faith leaders and conservative advocates, including former Trump appointee William Wolfe. “HB25-1312 is an attack on parental rights, free speech, and the ability of families to raise their children according to their values,” said Pastor J. Chase Davis, one of the event organizers and Lea...
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HB25-1312 and the silencing of parents: What the Rocky Mountain Summit revealed
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Approved, National, Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

HB25-1312 and the silencing of parents: What the Rocky Mountain Summit revealed

By Jen Schumann | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice From court-ordered gag rules to the looming threat of custody loss, this isn’t hypothetical — it’s happening now. Colorado families gathered at the Rocky Mountain Summit in early April to share what it means to raise children under a system that increasingly treats concern as abuse. What happened at the Summit Held April 6 in Englewood, the event brought together medical professionals, whistleblowers and families.  Their message was clear: parents are being sidelined by courts, schools and legislation that favors affirm-only practices. And proposed legislation like HB25-1312 may take things further, redefining parental objection as emotional abuse under the law. The Summit marked a milestone for 14-year-old Chl...
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Hunter: Faith-driven schools are proving that clarity and character create safe campuses
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Approved, Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice, Top Stories

Hunter: Faith-driven schools are proving that clarity and character create safe campuses

By Pastor Drake Hunter | Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice In the face of rising cultural concerns over student safety and institutional trust, a quiet but significant shift in Colorado’s educational landscape is rooted in moral conviction, sustained by ethical character, and bearing fruit in meaningful outcomes. While negative headlines often dominate the news cycle, a growing number of schools—especially those built on faith-based foundations—are showing that principled leadership still works. These institutions aren’t just reacting to problems; they’re proactively building systems and cultures where students can thrive. This proactive approach should reassure us that safety and success are not just aspirations, but achievable outcomes. And it all begins with what they believe. T...
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House Minority Leader Pugliese: Parental rights transcend party lines
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Approved, Newsmax, State, Top Stories

House Minority Leader Pugliese: Parental rights transcend party lines

By James Morley III | Newsmax Colorado House Minority Leader Rose Pugliese, R-Colorado Springs, told Newsmax Saturday that "parental rights in an issue that transcends party lines" in light of recent bills passed in the state Legislature that she said aim to erode the authority of parents. Last week, the Colorado House of Representatives passed House Bill 1312, which Pugliese said will punish a parent for referring to a transgender child by their birth name and gender, calling it "coercive control." "What this bill basically says is if you don't subscribe to a certain ideology, you could lose your children," she said during an appearance on "America Right Now." READ THE FULL STORY ON NEWSMAX
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Justice: Colorado’s HB1312 is sacrificing families to the trans lobby
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Approved, State, The Daily Caller

Justice: Colorado’s HB1312 is sacrificing families to the trans lobby

By Tiffany Justice | The Daily Caller No parent should ever be forced to enable harm to their child. It’s a primal instinct—to shield, to nurture, to guide our kids through life’s storms. Yet, Colorado is charging toward a law that turns this instinct upside down, branding it abusive for parents to question their child’s desire to “change their gender.” This isn’t a minor policy tweak; it’s a full-frontal assault on parental rights, propped up by the flimsy facade of “gender-affirming care”—a practice I see as abuse cloaked in compassion. The legislation at the heart of this, HB25-1312, cleared the Colorado House in early 2025 and is winding through the Senate as of April. Its supporters pitch it as a shield for transgender individuals, but peel back the rhetoric, and the real ta...
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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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CO Dems’ HB25-1312 gains national spotlight: “The inmates are running the asylum”
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Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

CO Dems’ HB25-1312 gains national spotlight: “The inmates are running the asylum”

By Rocky Mountain Voice Staff A controversial bill pushed by Colorado Democrats—HB25-1312, which redefines gender-related parental disagreements as potential abuse—is quickly gaining national media attention and backlash from lawmakers, parental rights advocates, and constitutional experts across the country. The bill, passed by House Democrats earlier this week, would give Colorado courts broad power to sever custody rights from parents who do not affirm their child’s self-declared gender identity, including pronouns and social transition.  Critics argue that the measure targets conservative families and faith-based parenting, and could ultimately allow ideological disagreements to be framed as abuse. National concern exploded this week after several high-profile figures ...
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Garbo: With HB25-1312, the state can claim your kids and call it compassion
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Approved, Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Garbo: With HB25-1312, the state can claim your kids and call it compassion

By C. J. Garbo | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice On April 6, 2025 the Colorado House of Representatives crossed a line - a Rubicon, as it were - into territory so profane, so fundamentally corrosive to the bedrock of human society, that it demands not just opposition but a thunderous rebuke. House Bill 25-1312 titled Legal Protections for Transgender Individuals, passed with a vote of 36-20, is no mere legislative misstep; it is a deliberate, ideological sledgehammer aimed at shattering the sacred bond between parent and child. To its proponents, I say this with the full weight of reason and the fire of conviction: you have unleashed a dangerous precedent, one that betrays the very essence of family, liberty, and the proper limits of government. This is not a defense of civil ...
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