At its core, this legislation attacks the biblical understanding that humans are created male and female in God’s image (Gen. 1:27). It seeks to replace parental authority—established by God—with state authority that enforces a worldview fundamentally at odds with Christian anthropology.

First, they targeted a baker. Now, they’re targeting parents.

Colorado’s anti-Christian trajectory became apparent in 2012, when Masterpiece Cakeshop owner Jack Phillips declined to create a wedding cake celebrating a same-sex ceremony. During a hearing on the case by the Colorado Civil Rights Commission, a commissioner said Phillips can believe “what he wants to believe” but cannot act on his religious beliefs “if he decides to do business in the state.” Now, 13 years later, Colorado lawmakers have shifted their sights from businesses to the family.

House Bill 25-1312—the deceptively named “Kelly Loving Act”—has cleared the Colorado House and advances to the Senate with minimal national attention. Yet its implications are staggering. Under this legislation, simply using your child’s birth name or biologically accurate pronouns could be legally classified as “coercive control,” potentially resulting in the loss of custody rights.

The message Colorado is sending is unmistakable: Surrender your biblical convictions or surrender your children.

Crime of ‘Misgendering’

The Kelly Loving Act operates through a subtle but powerful legal mechanism. By classifying “deadnaming” (using a child’s birth name) and “misgendering” (using pronouns that align with biological sex) as forms of “coercive control,” the bill places these speech acts in the same category as threatening or intimidating behaviors that courts consider when determining child custody.

Many Coloradans may not realize how this legislation creates a two-tiered legal system. Parents who hold to the traditional Christian understanding of gender could face intervention by the state without any evidence of actual abuse or neglect. All that’s necessary is evidence that they didn’t verbally affirm their child’s self-declared gender identity.

Even more concerning is the bill’s interstate implications. It explicitly prohibits Colorado courts from enforcing laws from other states that would remove a child from a parent who provides “gender-affirming care.” This effectively transforms Colorado into a legal sanctuary where one parent could pursue the medicalization of a child against the other parent’s wishes.

Colorado’s bill effectively criminalizes biblical parenting while creating a legal sanctuary for those seeking to circumvent other states’ protective measures.

What makes Colorado’s approach uniquely concerning is its use of family courts rather than criminal courts. Most parents lack the financial resources to fight prolonged custody battles, making compliance with state-mandated language and medical decisions the path of least resistance—regardless of personal convictions.

Missing Medical Context

Conspicuously absent from discussions around the Kelly Loving Act is the rapidly evolving medical consensus on gender dysphoria treatments.

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