By: Suzie Glassman/NewsBreak Denver
(Castle Rock, CO) Douglas County Republican representative Brandi Bradley lost her bid to add a parent’s bill of rights to Colorado’s constitution to this year's election ballot when it died in committee this week.
The “Fundamental Rights for Parents” bill would have set forth specific parental rights for directing minors' upbringing, education, and health care. Had the proposal passed the House and Senate, Colorado voters would’ve had to approve the constitutional amendment in this year’s general election.
Similar measures to increase parental oversight in education failed in 2016, 2017, 2020, and 2022.
The House State Civic, Military, and Veteran’s Affairs Committee voted 8-3 along party lines to indefinitely postpone the resolution, effectively ending the bill’s chances of moving forward.
Colorado’s leading advocacy organization for LGBTQ+ families, One Colorado, lobbied against the measure saying the “resolution undermines Colorado’s education system, promotes censorship and puts vulnerable youth more at risk.”
After the vote, One Colorado executive director, Nadine Bridges, released a statement on the group’s website: “Today we sent a strong reminder to the supporters of these harmful bills that Coloradans will not stand for discrimination.
"Around our state and our nation, we are seeing attacks against our community, particularly targeting transgender, gender expansive, and nonbinary people. The defeat of HB23-1098 is an important reminder that we must continue to push back against those who want to see the LGBTQ+ community erased."
Rep. Bradley opposes DougCo equity policy
Bradley recently spoke at a DougCo school board meeting against the district’s equity policy, saying it’s divisive and needs overhauling.
In her comments, Bradley also tried to link an increase in Colorado’s teen suicide rate among young white males to the psychological damage caused by messages or history lessons that group classes of citizens by oppressors and oppressed.
Yet, the same research Bradley cited about the state’s teen suicide rate doesn’t list U.S. History lessons as a risk factor. Instead, Colorado Children’s Campaign identified cyberbullying, social media use, a lack of a sense of resiliency, and exposure to adult suicides.
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