House Bill 1312 is making its way through Colorado's legislature. It would classify parents as abusive if they don't affirm their child's so-called 'gender identity.’
CBN and others report that if it passes, it could result in children being removed from their homes.
One father, Dustin Gonzalez, said it is already happening.
He lit into the Jefferson County Public Schools Board of Education earlier in the month, saying his twelve-year old daughter was socially transitioned at school. The child was led to a different sexual identity without his knowledge or permission.
“My daughter changed her identity, not after years of discussion or family dialogue, not of her joint input from both of her parents, no, this happened quickly, secretly, encouraged by a school-appointed therapist in a system that never thought to include me. And the school didn't inform me. They didn't include me. They didn't even ask me. They replaced me."
He said that by the time he found out, he was already labeled the problem.
“My objections weren't treated as concerns. They were treated as opposition. My voice was dismissed as hateful, my presence undermined. The therapist, the school, and eventually the court-appointed investigator all decided that because I would(n't) affirm something, I didn't deserve to parent my daughter equally anymore."
HB 1312 is also known as the "Kelly Loving Act. It would make "misgendering" and "deadnaming" be considered discrimination.
The bill’s next stop is the Colorado Senate Judiciary Committee. If it passes, it will move to the floor for a vote before the entire senate.
“Now, I'm at risk of losing parenting time, of being erased from my daughter's life-- not because I failed as a father, but because I dared to ask questions, and it started in your schools. Your systems made it possible, and your silence made it permanent. You gave my ex all the tools she needed to take our daughter from me, tools that she couldn't have forged on her own. You gave her the therapist, you gave her ideological support, and you never once thought 'shouldn't the father be involved, too?’”
Gonzalez then tore into the board members by name, threatening their futures with the board and in politics in general.
"You replaced my voice, you stole my seat at the table, you made decisions about my daughter without me. Mary Parker, Paula Reed, Aaron Kenworthy, Danielle Varda, and Michelle Applegate, your names are etched into my memory. Fathers like me will remember. You may keep your seats this cycle, maybe next. But I won't quit until each of you is replaced.”
As for you, Ms. Reed
Gonzalez had an especially stern message for Reed, the representative from his district.
“I've heard you're not running again. If that's true, good, but if you're planning something bigger, if you think higher office is your next move, then let me be crystal clear: I will be your opposition. At every campaign stop, on every ballot in every debate. You’ve lost the right to lead, and I'll make sure voters know why. You don't get to raise our children for us, and if those who replace you try as you have, we will replace them too.”
Finally, Gonzalez called on parents to look for other options to educate their children and join his fight to make parents – not schools – the primary influence in their children’s lives.
“Parents of Jefferson County -- get your kids out of Jefferson County (schools) now … and after you do, speak out, join me, and take back what's ours: the right to raise our kids."
