Two anti-trans ballot measures will appear on 2026 Colorado ballot
We need to add our voices to stop this assault on trans people. Notice it starts with trans kids being denied care and then moves to banning funding for poor or disabled adults. This is about hate, disgust, and bigotry driven by religion or misinformation. Notice that the article adds the information that no sexual reasignment surgery is done on minors something this group pushes as they know the “we must protect the children” is an easy sell. Everyone wants to protect children including the parents of transitioning kids who will have extreme stress and emotional disrest that could lead to suicide or self-harm. Trans minors get to socailly transition until puberty and then they are put on puberty blockers so they do not suffer from going through the wrong puberty for how they feel inside. Puberty blockers once stopped if not replaced with HRT the young person simply goes back through puberty of the sex assigned at birth. Socail transitioning means a name they choose to be called hair cuts that they prefer, and clothing they wish to wear all the genders they feel they are. These people don’t care about the individual kids, they care about the cause. They want trans people not to exist and they really don’t want those that pass because of puberty blockers to exist. That is the point they are driving to. It all comes down to forcing people to live their lives by our church doctrines or by our rules rather than live and let others live their lives. It is about enforcing a hedgomony of everyone being the same as cis straight people, which leads to everyone being one race is superior. We have to do everything possible to defend our trans folk because the corporate democrats got scared by the right into thinking that if they stop fighting for the rights of the vulnerable they will be accepted by the right. Sadly what happens when the rights of one group are abandoned the haters come for the next vulnerable of the group. The hater Christian right is already pushing for the over turning same-sex marriage as they feel they are winning on the wipe the trans out of existence. Hugs
A sign directs Election Day voters to the ballot drop box and polling center at the La Familia Recreation Center in Denver Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (Photo by Lindsey Toomer/Colorado Newsline)
Two ballot measures that would restrict rights for transgender children in the state will appear on the Colorado ballot in 2026.
Protect Kids Colorado, a coalition led by prominent anti-LGBTQ+ activist Erin Lee, submitted signatures in February for ballot measures that would prevent transgender children from participating in school sports and receiving gender-affirming surgeries. Lee led several anti-LGBTQ+ initiatives that the Colorado Title Board rejected ahead of the 2024 election.
There isn’t clear data on the number of transgender student athletes in Colorado, and the two major hospitals that provide gender-affirming care to minors in the state do not offer surgeries to minors.
“Across Colorado, citizens are stepping forward because they believe the legislature has failed to protect children and families,” Lee said in a statement. “When elected officials refuse to act, the people of Colorado are using their constitutional right to bring these issues directly to the ballot.”
LGBTQ+ advocacy organizations in Colorado oppose both measures.
“Coloradans have always valued individual freedom and the rights of families to make private decisions without political interference, but these measures would go against those core values,” Nadine Bridges, executive director of One Colorado, said in a statement. “One could expose students to invasive inspections just to play sports, while the other would place politicians between families and their doctors in deeply personal health care decisions. That kind of government overreach puts privacy and dignity at risk and doesn’t align with our Colorado values.”
Ballot Initiative 110 would prohibit health care professionals from knowingly performing any surgery on a minor “for the purpose of altering biological sex characteristics.” The measure would also prohibit state and federal funding including Medicaid from being used to pay for gender-affirming procedures.
Children’s Hospital Colorado and Denver Health have paused gender-affirming care for youth amid the Trump administration’s threats to pull Medicaid and Medicare funding entirely.
Ballot Initiative 109 would add language in state statute to define boys and girls based on physical anatomy, excluding transgender people.
Sports teams sponsored by schools or athletic associations would be required to expressly designate those teams for men, women or co-ed. Schools and their athletic departments would be required to adopt policies implementing the requirements of the initiative.
The measure would not affect any student’s ability to participate in co-ed sports.
The state’s commissioner of education would be tasked with enforcing the measure, and would have discretion to determine how to “take appropriate remedial action” against any school not in compliance with its requirements.
The Colorado secretary of state’s office verified that Initiative 109 had enough petition signatures Monday and that Initiative 110 had enough petition signatures Tuesday.
Bruce Parker, executive director of Rocky Mountain Equality, said Coloradans “don’t need outside interests to tell them how to raise their families.”
“In the coming months we are going to hear intentional lies from anti-trans extremists about this ballot measure,” Parker said in a statement. “They aren’t being honest about their agenda to erode privacy and access to credible medical care they don’t agree with. Their next targets are care for trans adults and abortion services if we let them get away with this.”
Protect Kids Colorado is also backing a ballot measure to increase penalties for child human trafficking in Colorado. The election will occur on Nov. 3.
Lindsey Toomer
Lindsey Toomer covers politics, social justice and other stories for Newsline. She formerly reported on city government at the Denver Gazette and on Colorado mountain town government, education and environment at the Summit Daily News.
Colorado Newsline is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
I am an older gay guy in a long-term wonderful relationship. My spouse and I are in our 36th year together. I love politics and news. I enjoy civil discussions and have no taboo subjects. My pronouns are he / him / his and my email is Scottiestoybox@gmail.com
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