Just today, the Colorado Supreme Court has ruled that a measure submitted by anti-trans activists is eligible for the 2024 ballot. It’s the second initiative from Protect Kids Colorado, a conservative coalition to target trans rights in Colorado through citizen-led ballot initiatives, to be reviewed and affirmed by the Supreme Court.
Initiative #142, which was approved for circulation on April 18, “Parental Notification of Gender Incongruence,” would require schools to out transgender students to their parents regardless of the student’s wishes. The just-approved Initiative #160, “Public Athletics Programs for Minors,” would force trans students to participate in sports according to their sex assigned at birth.
Both measures were initially approved by the Title Board, but opponents appealed the rulings to the Colorado Supreme Court. Now that they have received approval from the courts, the initiatives have until early August to collect enough signatures to appear on the ballot – something which the initiatives’ advocates say will be a challenge of its own.
“This next step is a tall order,” wrote former state Sen. Kevin Lundberg, another member of Protect Kids Colorado, in a recent newsletter update. “There are hundreds of Colorado citizens waiting to collect signatures, but it will take thousands, all across the state, to gather 200,000+ signatures.”
According to another member of the coalition, the legal battles to get the measures approved for circulation have already hampered Protect Kids Colorado’s ability to collect those signatures before the deadline.
“We have to turn them in August 3rd. And all the roadblocks that we’ve endured, trying to get title for this, has limited the amount of time that we have to walk and get people to sign,” said Lori Gimelshteyn, one of the registered proponents of #142, on KNUS’ Jeff & Bill radio show on April 26. Gimelshteyn is also the founder of Colorado Parent Advocacy Network (CPAN), a right-wing organization which targets school diversity policies.
In the interview, Gimelshteyn seemed hopeful that Protect Kids Colorado’s volunteer signature gatherers would be able to bring results.
“This is an all volunteer effort. It’s a big mountain to climb. And, you know, I pray that we’re able to get the number of signatures that we need,” she said. “But what it will also tell us, is it will give us some great data on what our grassroots efforts are capable of doing.”
Multiple other ballot initiatives from Protect Kids Colorado have also been appealed to the Supreme Court by proponents after being rejected by the Title Board.
