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Colorado Republicans tell parents to take kids out of school over fears they ‘turn more kids trans’

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The state GOP sent out a bigoted email filled with misinformation.

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The Republican Party of Colorado has called for parents in the state to take their kids out of public school because they say Democrats are trying “to turn more kids trans.”

In an email filled with bigoted language, the Colorado GOP claimed that acknowledging and honoring a person’s pronouns does “not make any sense and cause gender confusion.”

According to Denver NBC affiliate KUSA, the email, written by Darcy Schoening, the state GOP director of special initiatives, and distributed on Tuesday, complained that Democrats recently passed a bill, which Gov. Jared Polis signed, protecting students’ rights to be addressed by their chosen names.

HB 24-1039, which four Democratic women introduced in January, was signed into law on April 29.

According to Schoening, the bill was “sponsored by four far-left progressives, two of whom do not know their own genders and do not have children.” She complained that the law “requires teachers in public schools to use ‘pronouns’ for kids with gender confusion that do not align with their actual scientific gender, without parental consent.”

Schoening did not name the lawmakers who she attacked in her remarks. However, two of the four lead sponsors are members of the LGBTQ+ community.

Democratic state Rep. Stephanie Vigil is a queer lawmaker representing El Paso County, and the other is Rep. Brianna Titone, the first out transgender person elected to the Colorado legislature.

“Colorado Kids should be able to attend public schools, receive a quality education, and be free from indoctrination, but that is far from reality. In reality, all Colorado parents should be aiming to remove their kids from public education,” Schoening wrote.

The email also perpetuated the false notion that gender dysphoria among young people is just a fad or something kids do to get back at their parents.

“If your child decides he identifies as a girl because he is angry with you, or all of his friends are doing it, the Colorado government will actively encourage his new fetish by allowing him to identify as ‘she,’ ‘they,’ or whatever nonsensical terms your son’s teachers and peers may dream up…all without notifying you of your child’s disturbing behavior, which should be treated rather then encouraged,” Schoening wrote.

All major U.S. medical associations have endorsed affirming the gender identity of children and adults who have from gender dysphoria.

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Christopher Wiggins

Christopher Wiggins is The Advocate’s senior national reporter in Washington, D.C., covering the intersection of public policy and politics with LGBTQ+ lives, including The White House, U.S. Congress, Supreme Court, and federal agencies. He has written multiple cover story profiles for The Advocate’s print magazine, profiling figures like Delaware Congresswoman Sarah McBride, longtime LGBTQ+ ally Vice President Kamala Harris, and ABC Good Morning America Weekend anchor Gio Benitez. Wiggins is committed to amplifying untold stories, especially as the second Trump administration’s policies impact LGBTQ+ (and particularly transgender) rights, and can be reached at christopher.wiggins@equalpride.com or on BlueSky at cwnewser.bsky.social; whistleblowers can securely contact him on Signal at cwdc.98.
Christopher Wiggins is The Advocate’s senior national reporter in Washington, D.C., covering the intersection of public policy and politics with LGBTQ+ lives, including The White House, U.S. Congress, Supreme Court, and federal agencies. He has written multiple cover story profiles for The Advocate’s print magazine, profiling figures like Delaware Congresswoman Sarah McBride, longtime LGBTQ+ ally Vice President Kamala Harris, and ABC Good Morning America Weekend anchor Gio Benitez. Wiggins is committed to amplifying untold stories, especially as the second Trump administration’s policies impact LGBTQ+ (and particularly transgender) rights, and can be reached at christopher.wiggins@equalpride.com or on BlueSky at cwnewser.bsky.social; whistleblowers can securely contact him on Signal at cwdc.98.