Rocky Mountain Voice

Tag: Parental Rights

Ganahl: From Superior Elementary to sex camps — Colorado parental rights under attack
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Ganahl: From Superior Elementary to sex camps — Colorado parental rights under attack

By Heidi Ganahl | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice In 2018, as a mom of four with three of my children in first and third grade at Superior Elementary, I was shocked to learn that our young students were being exposed to confusing gender identity discussions without parental knowledge.  This was done through a program called Queer Endeavor at CU Boulder, which trained thousands of teachers in the metro area to integrate “queering the curriculum” around “problematic parents.” As a statewide elected University of Colorado Regent at the time, I felt a responsibility to speak out, warning that this was the start of a dangerous trend.  I was called a fearmonger and mocked.  But today, that warning has become a chilling reality. Colorado schools and universiti...
Colorado Supreme Court tightens child welfare case rules: No jury trial without parental presence
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Colorado Supreme Court tightens child welfare case rules: No jury trial without parental presence

By Michael Karlik | Denver Gazette The Colorado Supreme Court adopted on Monday a package of revisions to the rules governing child welfare cases, while modifying one section that governs when a parent surrenders their right to have a jury decide if their child is neglected. Earlier this month, the justices held a hearing to evaluate the long-running group effort to revise the rules of juvenile procedure. They heard the proposed package had achieved consensus among the entities with a stake in such proceedings. The proposal reflected recent changes to state law and clarified the unique position children occupy in dependency and neglect matters — the formal name for child neglect cases. However, the Supreme Court ended up tweaking the language that des...
Gimelshteyn: The unraveling medical crisis that Colorado parents must pay attention to
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Gimelshteyn: The unraveling medical crisis that Colorado parents must pay attention to

By Lori Gimelshteyn | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Just a few years ago, parents were assured that “gender-affirming care” was lifesaving, compassionate, and backed by science. Affirmation, puberty blockers, hormones, and ultimately surgery were sold as the only path forward for a child questioning whether they were “born in the wrong body.”  But the cracks in this narrative are widening—and behind them lies a deeply troubling truth: children have been swept into a medical experiment that ignores mental health, underlying trauma, and long-term consequences. Families across Colorado have shared heartbreaking stories of what happened when they trusted this system.  Many parents believed they were doing the right thing—only to realize that the affirmative model...
Colorado’s ‘totalitarian’ transgenderism bill sparks concerns from parents
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Colorado’s ‘totalitarian’ transgenderism bill sparks concerns from parents

 By Taylor Penley | Fox News Parental rights advocates are cautioning against a "totalitarian" transgenderism bill rammed through the Colorado state House that they say could jeopardize parents' chances in custody battles if they "misgender" or "deadname" their children. "This is giving the authority to our state to take our children away if we don't agree with these gender transitions, so it's got huge ramifications for all parents, especially those in custody situations who are fighting with their ex-spouses to stop their children from being medicalized," Erin Lee, a mom from the Centennial State, told "The Faulkner Focus" on Monday. She added, "It opens the door for all parents to potentially have their children forcibly removed by the state if they're not willing to affir...
Anderson: Education dollars should help all students perform, while lawmakers focus on funding gender ideology
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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...
Hancock: HB25-1312 replaces truth with dogma and calls it progress
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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...
Parents and Pastors Rally at Capitol to Stop HB25-1312 from Becoming Law
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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...
HB25-1312 and the silencing of parents: What the Rocky Mountain Summit revealed
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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...
Hunter: Faith-driven schools are proving that clarity and character create safe campuses
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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...
House Minority Leader Pugliese: Parental rights transcend party lines
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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