DENVER — The Colorado Supreme Court is allowing a local group to collect signatures for a ballot initiative that opponents believe would target LGBTQ+ students.
The measure would require a public school representative to notify a student's parents if they are experiencing gender incongruence. Gender incongruence is when a person identifies as something other than the gender that was assigned at birth.
Opponents believe the measure could potentially "out" transgender students to their parents.
"Do people not have anything to do than to interfere in the lives of someone that's different from them?" Mardi Moore, executive director of Out Boulder County, said. "This is specifically an anti-LGBTQ initiative. The folks behind it have been clear."
"We believe this measure is so supportive of our kiddos that do identify as LGBT," Lori Gimelshteyn, executive director of the Colorado Parent Advocacy Network, said. Gimelshteyn helped write the ballot initiative.
"We very strongly believe that parents are the ones that know best and help them," she said.
The measure was approved by the Colorado Title Board, but opponents challenged the decision with the Colorado Supreme Court. Late last week, the court affirmed the initiative, giving it the go-ahead to begin collecting signatures.
The exact text of the ballot measure states, "Any public school representative who obtains information that a child enrolled in their public school is experiencing gender incongruence shall notify the child's parents within 48 hours of receiving such information."
Gimelshteyn has until August to collect about 125,000 signatures to get the measure on the ballot.
"I feel very strongly that we will get there," she said.
"You can be ensured that our volunteers, our staff and our large community will do everything possible to ensure this is not passed in the state of Colorado," Moore said. "We've had big wins. I don't think Colorado will be any different."
Gimelshteyn hopes to start collecting signatures on this measure by the end of this week. She said every local school district will have the ability to write a policy around how this measure will be implemented, if it does get on the ballot and pass.
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