Worthy Christian News > US News > Colorado Parents May Lose Custody For ‘Misgendering’ Child

Colorado Parents May Lose Custody For ‘Misgendering’ Child

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News

COLORADO SPRINGS, USA (Worthy News) – Influential Christian leaders have condemned plans by legislators in the U.S. state of Colorado to adopt a law that could potentially strip custody from parents, including Christians, who refer to their gender-dysphoric child by their sex or birth name.

Family Policy Alliance (FPA), a U.S. conservative Christian advocacy group, said Wednesday they are “sounding the alarm over Colorado House Bill 25-1312” as it “represents one of the most sweeping efforts in the nation to deny parental authority, restrict religious expression and increase state control over families.”

FPA’s Chief Executive Officer Craig DeRoche described HB25-1312 as “one of the most radical efforts we’ve seen to undermine parental rights, restrict free speech, and elevate government authority over the family.”

Now under consideration in the Colorado Senate after passing the House of Representatives, HB25-1312 redefines “coercive control” in child custody proceedings to include “deadnaming” and “misgendering.”

The law could be used potentially to strip custody from parents who refer to their gender-dysphoric child by their sex or birth name, as it would amend the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act to classify such language as “discriminatory conduct,” Worthy News learned.

That would make parents and others “vulnerable to investigation and penalties from the Colorado Civil Rights Division for expressing Biblically based views on gender,” the FPA added in a statement shared with Worthy News.

‘VIOLATION OF RIGHTS’

“Today, I urge you to make your voices heard on this bill – it fundamentally threatens everything we hold dear,” FPA Policy Director Joseph Kohm wrote in an open letter to Coloradans. “Time is of the essence to stop this unconstitutional violation of our rights,” he stressed.

FPA urged Coloradans “to take immediate action by contacting their state senators and voting “no” on HB25-1312.”

The organization also asked citizens to attend “a prayer vigil at the State Capitol on April 17” to “help us seek divine guidance in our support of vulnerable children, parental rights, and religious freedom.”

The tensions in Colorado come nearly three months after U.S. President Donald J. Trump President Trump signed a sweeping executive order during his first hours in office, recognizing only two sexes, male and female, and directing federal agencies to cease promotion of the concept of gender transition.

Trump’s order, signed from the Oval Office, is part of a broader campaign promise to rid the nation of what the president called “transgender insanity” and “reverse diversity and inclusion” initiatives launched by the previous administration of President Joe Biden.

FPA cooperates with the Christians Engaged group. Both describe themselves as “Christian ministries that defend faith, family, and freedom, protecting American families by organizing, educating, and mobilizing the social conservative movement in America.” Among their supporters are about 850,000 Christian voters, “and growing,” according to FPA figures.