DENVER (AP) 鈥 Colorado's House was tense Friday morning as the Democratic majority pushed two bills through the chamber that would protect transgender people's chosen names: one allowing those convicted of a felony to change their name to conform with their gender identity and another requiring school staff use a student鈥檚 chosen name.
These are the latest in a slew of bills across the country that have a Democrat-controlled legislatures including Hawaii and New Jersey have introduced bills similar to Colorado鈥檚, while Republican lawmakers in Idaho, Kansas, Wyoming and Louisiana are digging their heels with bills in the opposite direction.
The proposals stirred emotional debate, and at times tears, on the Colorado House floor Friday, along with a number of breaks to negotiate what could and couldn't be said in the well. The morning included wide-eyed surprise and huffs from both parties, prompting a back and forth of retorts and accusations over three hours of discussion.
鈥淚 am patently offended by the generalization and characterization of trans people with crimes against children,鈥 said Democratic Rep. Brianna Titone, a transgender woman, as she stared at Republicans in the chamber. 鈥淚 won't stand for that.鈥
Both bills passed the House roughly on party lines and are now headed to the Senate for further debate.
Republicans pushed back on the bill to allow those convicted of a felony to change their names to match their gender identity, arguing that it would allow those who committed future crimes to hide behind a new name.
鈥淭hank you for helping them if they want to do criminal activities, thank you for helping them cloak their identity,鈥 said Republican Rep. Richard Holtorf.
Democrats pointed out that a name change would still have to be signed off on by a judge, and that the ability for someone convicted of a felony to change their name has existed for years in cases of marriage and adoption.
鈥淚f this was really about saying, 鈥楶eople with felonies should not be able to change their names,鈥 and not just one group of people, we would鈥檝e heard that any woman who鈥檚 committed a felony is trying to hide when she want鈥檚 to get married," said Rep. Jennifer Bacon, Democrats' assistant House majority leader.
The second bill debated Friday would require school staff use students' chosen names and make it a form of discrimination not to. Democratic Rep. Jennifer Parenti described how her transgender teenager first started using their chosen name at school before later speaking with Parenti.
鈥淚 looked at them and I said, 鈥業鈥檓 sorry if I ever gave you the impression that this wouldn鈥檛 be okay,鈥欌 said Parenti, eyes welling with tears. But 鈥渋t makes sense ... that someone might want to try something this difficult out in a safe space before talking to their parents about it.鈥
That's the thrust of the argument the bill's proponents have made, saying the measure particularly protects transgender youth whose family may not be as accepting. In turn, Republicans argued this bill would strip parents鈥 rights and limit involvement in their child鈥檚 life. The bill wouldn't require that the school keeps parents in the dark.
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Bedayn is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
