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Tag: Protecting children

Cole: The hidden risks of gender-affirming care demand Colorado’s restraint
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Approved, Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Cole: The hidden risks of gender-affirming care demand Colorado’s restraint

By Shaina Cole | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Colorado has embraced gender-affirming care for minors, covering treatments like puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and, in rare cases, surgeries through Medicaid and other state programs.  While intended to address gender dysphoria, these interventions pose significant long-term dangers to children, potentially causing irreversible harm, with limited evidence of sustained mental health benefits. The rise in gender identity issues among minors may be fueled by social media influence, mental health challenges, and parental dynamics, raising concerns about premature medical decisions.  Given the lack of long-term data and children’s developmental vulnerabilities, we must restrict these treatments to rare, extreme c...
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Sturm: Wisdom gained after debating a Pronoun Policy as a theater company board member
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Approved, Commentary, State, Substack

Sturm: Wisdom gained after debating a Pronoun Policy as a theater company board member

By Melanie Sturm | Commentary, Substack What would you do if the state called you an unfit parent — not for hurting your child, but for refusing to pretend your daughter is your son? That’s the reality Colorado families could soon face under a bill advancing in the state legislature. And in Maryland, the Supreme Court is now weighing whether parents have any say at all over LGBTQ content taught in elementary school. Policies once dismissed as fringe are ubiquitous. Silence shouldn’t become complicity. Two summers ago, I saw where this leads — not while in a courtroom, but around a boardroom table. I’d served on the board of a beloved theater company for over two decades. Then one day, a concerned parent forwarded me the children’s program Pronoun Policy, which required kids ...
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Clock runs out on social media bill: lawmakers shield themselves and Polis from historic override
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Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Clock runs out on social media bill: lawmakers shield themselves and Polis from historic override

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice The Senate overrode the governor’s veto. The House never even had to say no. In Colorado politics, sometimes the clock matters more than the votes. Without casting a single "no" vote, Colorado lawmakers on April 28 killed a bipartisan attempt to override Governor Jared Polis’ veto of a social media regulation bill. Just days earlier, the Senate had voted 29–6 to override the veto of Senate Bill 25-086, marking the state's first successful chamber override of a policy bill in more than a decade.  But when the bill reached the House, members voted 51–13 to lay over the override until after the legislative session ended. As reported by The Colorado Sun, the maneuver guaranteed the bill’s death without a formal vote, allowing lawmakers to av...
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Free speech or safer feeds? Colorado reacts after Senate overrides veto of social media bill
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Approved, denvergazette.com, State

Free speech or safer feeds? Colorado reacts after Senate overrides veto of social media bill

By Marissa Ventrelli | Denver Gazette Several groups on Friday lauded the Colorado state Senate's veto override of a bill that seeks to impose certain regulations on social media platforms in the hopes they would crack down on users who violate their rules, while critics called the bill censorious and argued it would give tech companies "too much power" to "de-platform" people. The Senate voted to override the governor's veto on a 29-6 vote. The state House is expected to hold its override vote next week. Senate Bill 086 would require social media companies to evaluate reports of policy violations within 72 hours. If a user is found to have violated the policy, the platform must remove that person or entity within 24 hours. The bill would also require social media companies to sub...
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Polis faces pressure as veto showdown looms on sweeping social media bill
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Approved, KUNC, State

Polis faces pressure as veto showdown looms on sweeping social media bill

By Bente Birkeland | CPR News On November 8, 2020, Chelsea Congdon’s life changed forever.  She and her husband had invited friends over for a backyard party at their home in Old Snowmass. They were building a bonfire when a car from the Pitkin County Sheriff’s Department pulled up.  “The policeman came and found us there and let us know that our son Miles had died in Boulder and his body had been discovered that morning,” she recently recalled to CPR News. “It felt very unreal. And it feels as if your entire life just shatters on the floor and for some reason, you’re still standing. I mean, it doesn’t make any sense. It’s impossible to put together losing a kid.” Her son, Miles Brundige, was a 19-year-old sophomore at the University of Colorado. He’d grown up big ...
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