After being delayed for nearly a week, the Colorado state House on Friday advanced two measures dealing with name changes for convicted felons and “preferred” names for students following a contentious proceeding that at times compelled the speaker to halt the debate.

House Bill HB 1071 would allow a felon to use gender identity as “good cause” for a legal name change. 

Meanwhile, House Bill 1039 would require schools to use a student’s preferred name, and subject the school to discrimination claims with the state’s Civil Rights Commission if they refuse.

Bill adds ‘gender identity’ as good cause reason for felons’ name change  

The debate on Friday rehashed points by both sides a few days ago, when the first attempt to vote on HB 1071 ended in chaos. On Monday, the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Lorena Garcia, D-Adams County, pushed an amendment to name the bill after Tiara Latrice Kelley, a transgender woman with a felony history.

Kelley is a drag queen and performer at Club Q. Prior to her transition, Kelley had a lengthy arrest and conviction record.

The amendment failed in a 31-28 vote, with 10 Democrats voting with Republicans against the amendment.

On Friday, Republicans argued anew that the bill would put the rights of criminals above those of victims. Republicans have said the bill should not be named after a felon, even as they raised public safety concerns. 

“You’re taking one group of people and saying they deserve more ability, more opportunity to be able to hide their criminal record” over all other felons, who would also want to hide a criminal record, said Rep. Scott Bottoms, R-Colorado Springs. 

Rep. Ryan Armagost, R-Berthoud, said the bill “chooses the wrong victims: the perpetrators of crime, not the actual victims.”

Democrats countered that changing the name will not affect a felon’s criminal record, since that will continue to follow the person, as a Social Security number does not change nor do fingerprints. They also accused Republicans of fear-mongering.

People should not have to live under the shadow of their mistakes, said Rep. Brianna Titone, D-Arvada, who is transgender. 

“People are being harmed” for saying they want equal protection under the law, said Assistant Majority Leader Jennifer Bacon, D-Denver, who added that there is no greater individual thought than the right to self-determination and name oneself.

Government cannot control how someone wants to be identified, she said. 

This bill does not allow anyone to hide, Garcia, the bill’s sponsor, also insisted during Friday’s debate.

While several lawmakers referred to the bill as “Tiara’s Law,” no one attempted to resurrect Monday’s amendment, since that is considered a “settled question.” The amendment, however, could resurface in the Senate. 

House Speaker Julie McCluskie, D-Dillon, halted the debate several times when lawmakers made comments she found objectionable from both Republican and Democratic lawmakers.

After nearly 90 minutes of debate, Majority Leader Monica Duran “called the question,” a non-debatable motion that ends debate and moves to a vote.

The bill passed on a 43-18 vote, with one Democratic “no” vote. 

Bill requires schools to use students’ ‘preferred names’ 

House Democrats also approved the second bill, HB 1039, which subjects schools to discrimination claims with the state’s Civil Rights Commission if they refused if they refused to use a student’s preferred name.

The bill adds discrimination based on gender expression to the list of requirements that the State Board of Education is not allowed to waive. The waiver process applies primarily to charter schools, which are allowed to substitute how they would satisfy a legal requirement or one from the education board.

The bill was suggested by the Colorado Youth Advisory Council last year. 

Rep. Brandi Bradley, R-Roxborough Park, said the bill is dangerous, claiming “a teacher can no longer look away” and will now have to participate in this policy.

It’s also dangerous to women and children and misogynistic, added Rep. Richard Holtorf, R-Akron.

The measure undermines parents, added Rep. Rick Taggart, R-Grand Junction.

House Minority Leader Rose Pugliese, R-Colorado Springs, noted that a discrimination claim would likely have to be filed by a parent on behalf of a minor. 

“We are opening ourselves up for some really good lawsuits,” opined Rep. Mike Lynch, R-Wellington. Litigious parents will go after teachers, he said, and “if I was a teacher, I wouldn’t like this additional standard laid upon me” for making a mistake.

Supporters said the bill is important to prevent, among other things, “mis-gendering” students.  

Discrimination also damages relationships between teachers and students, said Rep. Tim Hernandez, D-Denver, who formerly taught in Denver Public Schools and now teaches at the Urban Peak shelter for homeless youth.

Rep. Barbara McLachlan, D-Durango, a former teacher, talked about when students came to her to ask to be called by another name, adding that their parents would kill them if they knew.

The decision, she said, is about whether to provide those students the safe space.

“Those students chose me as the person who would listen, not their parents,” she said.

“I made that choice to listen to students,” she said, adding she’s proud of it and would do it again. 

“When I see people so full of hate mis-gendering kids, it’s wrong,” Rep. Leslie Herod, D-Denver, also said. “We cannot deny that LGBTQ kids face high rates of depression and suicide because of the oppression they face… We have the ability to say, ‘not in Colorado.'”

She said the bill does not say a young person shouldn’t or can’t talk to their parents, but it’s not required so that they can have the dignity of their names.

Bill sponsor Rep. Stephanie Vigil, D-Colorado Springs, said she ran for office for more structural things, such as housing. But the shooting at Club Q, which happened just weeks before she was sworn into office, changed things for her, including the bills she decided to pursue, she said.

When people are under attack, “we’ll address that,” she said, adding that nothing in the bill says the school cannot notify parents. 

Following a two-hour debate, HB 1039 won a 42-19 vote with two Democrats joining Republicans in voting against. 

Both bills now head to the state Senate.