Demonstrators march after gathering outside the Colorado State Capitol building in Denver on February 17, 2025.
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The Colorado legislature has advanced a series of laws to protect the LGBTQ+ community in the face of an increasingly hostile federal government under the direction of President Donald Trump. The citizens of Colorado aided the effort by voting to change the state’s constitution to recognize marriage equality, which was signed into law by Democratic Gov. Jared Polis, who is gay, last week.
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Colorado voters approved Amendment J last November, removing language from the state's constitution defining marriage as between a man and a woman, local news outlet Westword reports. By doing so, the amendment only required a simple majority rather than 55 percent voter approval if the amendment added language. Amendment J was approved by a vote of 64.33 percent to 35.67 percent.
Amendment J was implemented with the passage of Senate Bill 25-014, which was signed into law by Polis on April 7. The bill was sponsored by state Sen. Jessie Danielson and Representatives Brianna Titone and Lorena García. Garcia, an out lesbian, and Titone, the state’s first out transgender legislator and an Advocate Champion of Pride in 2019, hailed the decision of the voters to protect the LGBTQ+ community,
“This law implements the will of the voters and protects marriage equality in Colorado,” Titone said in a statement. “As the Trump administration continues to blatantly attack and demonize the LGBTQ+ community, this law upholds marriage equality in Colorado. By implementing the will of the voters, we're protecting the freedom to marry who we love.”
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“Colorado voters have spoken; they want marriage equality constitutionally protected in our state,” García said in a statement. “In an era where the Trump administration continues to take aim at critical protections and rights for the LGBTQ+ community, Colorado is standing up to protect marriage equality. With this law, we’re fulfilling the will of the voters and taking steps to protect marriage equality now and into the future.”
Other bills under consideration include:
- House Bill 25-1109, which would enable the recognition of trans and nonbinary folks by adding a gender field to government registration systems and documents like death certificates. The bill passed the House in March and is with the Senate for consideration.
- House Bill 25-1309 would require health insurers operating in the state to provide gender-affirming care. The bill passed the House last week and is with the Senate for consideration.
- House Bill 25-1312 would levy penalties for discriminatory acts against transgender people, including deadnaming. The bill passed the House last week and is with the Senate for consideration.
- Senate Bill 25-129 would add providers of gender-affirming care and abortion services to its existing shield laws, protecting them from responding to out-of-state investigations into such providers. The bill passed the Senate and House and is with Polis for his consideration.
Other bills currently under consideration provide protections for voting rights and emergency medical services regardless of a person’s gender identity.
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