Rocky Mountain Voice

Tag: religious liberty

Colorado lawmakers debated dozens of bills touching faith, family and parental rights
Christian Home Educators of Colorado, Approved, Commentary, State

Colorado lawmakers debated dozens of bills touching faith, family and parental rights

By Colleen Enos | Commentary, Christian Home Educators of Colorado More than 700 bills were introduced in the 2026 Colorado General Assembly, but by God’s grace, none of Colorado’s homeschool freedoms were lost. CHEC was there to stand watch over bills that could affect homeschool freedoms, religious liberty, and parental rights, and sound the alarm when action was needed to engage legislators directly. The 2026 Homeschool Freedom End-of-the-Session Report is published and linked in this post, as well as the Voting Grid chronicling legislators’ votes on 24 of the bills included. Please use these as tools to equip you to take action with your legislators. Still, there were consistent groups and areas that were targeted throughout the 2026 legislative session. F...
School Board Pays $95K After Censoring Student Tribute to Charlie Kirk
The Christian Post, Approved, National

School Board Pays $95K After Censoring Student Tribute to Charlie Kirk

By Michael Gryboski | The Christian Post Officials violated student's First, Fourth and 14th Amendment rights. A North Carolina school district has agreed to pay $95,000 in attorneys' fees and damages after censoring an on-campus student tribute to conservative Christian activist Charlie Kirk. Last year, a high school student and her parents sued the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education over a painted tribute to Kirk that was removed shortly after it was completed.   The nonprofit legal organization Alliance Defending Freedom, which represented the student, announced Monday that it had reached a settlement with school district officials over the lawsuit. Per the settlement, the board of education agreed to pay $95,000 in assorted fees...
I won’t surrender my speech rights: Why I’m challenging Colorado’s gender identity mandates
Fair For All, Approved, Commentary, State

I won’t surrender my speech rights: Why I’m challenging Colorado’s gender identity mandates

By Laureen Boll | Commentary, Fair For All As Colorado expands protections for gender identity, concerns about free speech, privacy, and compelled expression grow. I consider myself a law-abiding person. I’ve never seen a jail cell, I’ve never been sued. I’ve gotten one speeding ticket (I was driving to the airport and was concerned I would miss my flight) and two parking tickets (both times were unintentional). I begrudgingly pay my taxes — on time and always respect the rights of others. So why am I, of all people, formally notifying my employer that I won’t comply with their policy on “respectful treatment” in the workplace? Because it demands that I use names and pronouns to affirm a gender identity I do not believe exists. My refusal isn’t about disrespect. It’s about...
States Rally Behind Foster Care Plan That Expands Religious Family Participation
The Federalist, Approved, National

States Rally Behind Foster Care Plan That Expands Religious Family Participation

By: Hannah Bates | The Federalist The Trump administration is reversing Biden-era rules that tossed Christian families from foster care, reducing homes available to desperate children. Montana became the 25th state to join President Trump’s “A Home for Every Child” executive order initiative Monday. The $11.4 billion project under the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) aims to address the national foster parent shortage, partly by creating opportunities for religious Americans the Biden administration blocked due to pro-queer policies. First Lady Melania Trump has made helping foster children one of her top philanthropic priorities. The ACF reports that “for every 100 children entering foster care, only 57 licensed foster hom...
Polis Signs New Law Allowing Lawsuits Against Licensed Counselors Despite Free Speech Concerns
Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Polis Signs New Law Allowing Lawsuits Against Licensed Counselors Despite Free Speech Concerns

By Marissa Ventrelli | Colorado Politics Gov. Jared Polis on Monday signed a bill enabling individuals who underwent “conversion therapy” to seek damages from practitioners, calling it harmful and ineffective as he also moved to prohibit state funding for it. Conversion therapy refers to practices that attempt to counsel people on their choices of sexual orientation or gender identity. Critics argue that these efforts are ineffective and can cause harm, while supporters contend that decisions about participating in such practices should be left to families. House Bill 1322 — sponsored by Reps. Alex Valdez, D‑Denver, and Karen McCormick, D‑Hygiene, along with Sens. Lisa Cutter, D‑Evergreen, and Kyle Mullica, D‑Thornton — would allow individuals to bring civil claim...
“Intentional obstruction”: CHEC argues Colorado lawmakers delayed homeschool changes until final days of session
Christian Home Educators of Colorado, Approved, Commentary, State

“Intentional obstruction”: CHEC argues Colorado lawmakers delayed homeschool changes until final days of session

By Colleen Enos | Commentary, Christian Home Educators of Colorado When tasks are put off to the last minute, we assume that those responsible are procrastinators or that time just got away from them. We don’t typically think that what they did was intentional. Applying this logic to our state’s General Assembly would be wrong. The majority party plans the schedule of when bills will be debated in each chamber, how to introduce them, and enacts a plan of intentional obstruction. This process was taking place during the last three days of the legislative session. Controversial bills were saved for the very last moments. On Monday morning, the State House Appropriations Committee met to discuss the final bills. Committee hearings are a place for the public to offer testimony and make t...
From a Detroit crack house to the National Mall: The pastor Colorado sees in June
Rocky Mountain Voice, National, Top Stories

From a Detroit crack house to the National Mall: The pastor Colorado sees in June

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice Lorenzo Sewell sold drugs on Detroit's east side as a kid. His father went to prison for murder. His younger brother was killed by a car. Today he stands on the National Mall with House Speaker Mike Johnson and War Secretary Pete Hegseth, part of a national moment of rededication that organizers expect to draw 15,000 people. "We can be in a crack house or we can be in the White House," Sewell said on Fox & Friends Weekend Sunday morning. He says faith took him from the one toward the other. "God loves us and willing to reach out to us regardless." Next month, Colorado will meet him in person. Sewell now leads Detroit's 180 Church and is one of the faith leaders at Rededicate 250, the National Mall gathering marking the country's ap...
Government knows best? Colorado homeschool advocates say families should decide
Christian Home Educators of Colorado, Approved, Commentary, State

Government knows best? Colorado homeschool advocates say families should decide

By Colleen Enos | Commentary, Christian Home Educators of Colorado In the 1950s, there was a popular television show that aired for many years called Father Knows Best. It was a wholesome program about a typical American family in the Midwest. Today, if we created a show about the state of Colorado, it would be called “Government Knows Best.” This is because our state government has never met an area of life that they don’t want to regulate or control. Education is one of those areas that is funded and controlled by our state. This also extends to part-time homeschool enrichment funding, which has become more popular to use due to the growing number of publicly provided and publicly funded programs across our state. Alarmed at the number of families taking advantage of these programs...
Colorado Case Tests Limits Of Religious Freedom In Publicly Funded Programs
Complete Colorado, Approved, Commentary, State

Colorado Case Tests Limits Of Religious Freedom In Publicly Funded Programs

By Ari Armstrong | Commentary, Complete Colorado The Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case of a Colorado Catholic preschool that wishes to get state funding but not follow all antidiscrimination laws pertaining to gay and transgender students and possibly staff. I suspect that constitutional law professor Josh Blackman is right to predict the Court’s view, “This will likely be yet another repudiation of Colorado’s hostility to religious liberty.” Yet I wish Blackman and other conservatives would more fully think through the implications of the case for freedom of conscience. Remember who’s paying the bill The basic argument for not excluding the Catholic preschool is that excluding it infringes the school’s religious liberty. Religious prescho...

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