In a chilling assault on religious liberty, parental rights, biology, free speech, and Christianity itself, Colorado’s House Bill 25-1312, deceptively named the “Kelly Loving Act,” was signed into law by Gov. Jared Polis, D, on May 16.
This legislation, passed in a watered-down yet still dangerous form, represents a radical overreach by the state, effectively criminalizing biblical convictions and punishing Christians for living out not only their faith but the obvious truth that men are men, women are women, and no one can ever “change their gender.”
Since it was first announced for a hearing on April 1 (a fitting day for nonsense like this), HB1312 has been the center of a pitched fight between various coalition groups seeking to defend common sense and the extremely progressive Colorado legislature and governor.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
Subscribe to get daily/weekly email with the top stories (plus special offers!) from The Christian Post. Be the first to know.
Courageous pastors from the Fight1312 coalition, state representatives like Scott Bottoms and Jarvis Caldwell, and organizations like the Center for Baptist Leadership, the Centennial Institute, and Focus on the Family stood firm against its insidious provisions.
Although this radical bill has become law, the fight is far from over. Christians in Colorado must rise, trusting in God’s sovereignty, to oppose this tyranny and defend the truth.
Polis signed the bill.
Under Colorado law, the state is now authorized to prosecute people who “deadnamed” or “misgender.”
We will continue to speak the truth of God plainly regardless of what this “law” claims. The fight has only just begun. @fight1312 pic.twitter.com/fGAnYJJ3jk
— J. Chase Davis (@jchasedavis) May 16, 2025
As a reminder, HB1312 is nothing short of insane. It expands the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act (CADA) to define “deadnaming” (using a person’s birth name) and “misgendering” (referring to someone by their biological sex) as discriminatory acts in public accommodations.
This means that Christian institutions will be stripped of the right to operate according to their biblical principles — as declared in Genesis 1:27, “So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.”
As such, Christian schools, camps, and other organizations that uphold dress codes or bathroom and overnight accommodation policies aligned with a child’s God-given, biological sex, or refuse to adopt “inclusive” policies mandating the use of pronouns and names according to a person’s preferred gender identity, could face lawsuits or penalties.
Even more egregious, the law threatens parental rights. Although the most controversial provision — classifying “deadnaming” or “misgendering” a child as “coercive control” in custody disputes — was removed after public outcry, the underlying ideology remains. The state is signaling that parents who refuse to affirm their child’s pursuit of transgenderism, a destructive and deadly delusion rooted in rejecting God’s design, could face scrutiny.
State Rep. Jarvis Caldwell, R, passionately argued,
The idea that misgendering your own child is considered coercive control, which is another word for abuse? Child abuse? Because you want to get your child help instead of affirming their delusions? This is the most disgusting bill I’ve seen so far.”
God entrusted parents with “training up a child in the way he should go” (Proverbs 22:6). Now, parents who take that command seriously risk state interference, loss of custody, and prosecution for upholding biblical truth.
The opposition to HB1312 throughout the legislative process was fierce and inspiring. Pastors from Fight1312, a grassroots movement of Christians defending biblical truth, rallied at the Colorado State Capitol, urging believers to stand against what they rightly called a “godless” bill.
Pastor Matt Patrick declared, “We are the church, and we must stand for truth. And when the truth of God is being defied, we must call it out.”
Pastor J. Chase Davis, a key leader in Fight1312, described the bill as “an egregious assault on Christians,” emphasizing its threat to the Gospel itself. The Douglas County Commissioners also passed a resolution opposing HB 21312, citing its overreach and harm to families.
Despite these efforts, the bill passed, and Gov. Polis signed it into law on May 16, 2025, during a “Friday news dump” to minimize attention.
Yet the battle continues. Pastors across Colorado are defying the law by preaching God’s truth about sex and gender. Fight1312 reported on May 18 that “many pastors on our team plan to take the pulpit and preach loudly and clearly tomorrow, come what may,” openly challenging the state’s attempt to silence the church.
Many Pastors on our team plan to take the pulpit and preach loudly and clearly tomorrow, come what may. Several will openly defy this new law — because we love God, and because we love our people.
Can your church and pastor say the same? We exhort you now: If your church has… pic.twitter.com/tnbRXHb0pr
— Fight1312 (@fight1312) May 18, 2025
Meanwhile, the Colorado Parents Advocacy Network (CPAN) has filed the first lawsuit against the new Colorado law, seeking to strike it down as a violation of constitutional protections. This legal action is a critical step, and Christians must support it with prayer and resources.
In a statement to Fox News, Sarah Parshall Perry, vice president of Defending Education (which is leading the lawsuit for CPAN), said that “the law ‘muzzles’ parents and doctors to protect the state’s ‘preferred gender orthodoxy.’” She added,
“Colorado can’t seem to stop losing at the Supreme Court on constitutional challenges to its anti-discrimination laws. And yet, Governor Polis has nevertheless signed another patently unconstitutional iteration of its Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act — something that can only be described as an exercise of remarkable hubris.”
Hubris is right. This bill is nothing less than an attempt by the leftists running Colorado to “play God” over biology, speech, parents, and religion.
Thankfully, the Constitution and Supreme Court precedents provide a strong foundation for overturning this law. The First Amendment guarantees “the free exercise” of religion and the right to free speech, rights HB1312 blatantly violates by compelling speech (forcing Christians to use “chosen names” or pronouns) and punishing religious convictions.
In Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission (2018), the Supreme Court ruled 7-2 that Colorado’s application of CADA to punish Christian baker Jack Phillips for declining to create a cake for a same-sex wedding violated his free exercise of religion, citing the state’s “hostility” toward his beliefs. Similarly, in 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis (2023), the Court affirmed that the government cannot compel speech that violates an individual’s conscience, a principle directly applicable to “deadnaming” and “misgendering” mandates.
These cases demonstrate that Colorado’s attempt to criminalize biblical convictions is on shaky legal ground.
To strike down HB1312, Christians must pursue a multi-pronged strategy. First, we should support lawsuits like CPAN’s, which challenge the law’s constitutionality. Second, many Christians should engage in civil disobedience, by preaching truth without fear, trusting in God’s promise: “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God” (Isaiah 41:10). Third, we must mobilize voters to elect legislators who will repeal this law, holding accountable those who voted for it. Finally, churches must educate their congregations, equipping them to stand firm in a culture increasingly hostile to biblical truth.
Finally, the passage of HB1312 must be a wake-up call. It reveals a state willing to prioritize radical gender ideology over the sacred rights of parents, the freedom of speech, and the free exercise of religion.
As Pastor Chase Davis warned, the bill’s downstream effects could make “sharing the Gospel illegal,” since the Gospel calls for repentance from sin, including the rejection of God’s design for sex and gender. Colorado’s churches must not cower. They must stand, as the Apostle Paul exhorted, “steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord” (1 Corinthians 15:58).
What’s next? The fight must continue. HB1312 cannot be allowed to stand — if it does, it sets a precedent for further erosion of religious liberty. Other states may follow, emboldened to criminalize Christian convictions under the guise of “anti-discrimination.”
But the Church is not powerless.
Colorado’s Christians can fight back with God’s strength — through lawsuits, preaching, political action, and prayer — trusting that “the gates of hell shall not prevail” against Christ’s Church (Matthew 16:18). The time is now. Churches must unite, support Fight1312, CPAN, and others, and speak the truth without compromise.
The soul of Colorado — and the nation — hangs in the balance.
Originally published at the Standing for Freedom Center.
William Wolfe is a visiting fellow with the Center for Renewing America. He served as a senior official in the Trump administration, both as a deputy assistant secretary of defense at the Pentagon and a director of legislative affairs at the State Department. Prior to his service in the administration, Wolfe worked for Heritage Action for America, and as a congressional staffer for three different members of Congress, including the former Rep. Dave Brat. He has a B.A. in history from Covenant College, and is finishing his Masters of Divinity at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.
Follow William on Twitter at @William_E_Wolfe
