In response to renewed efforts to restrict the rights of transgender youth, LGBTQ+ advocacy organizations in Colorado have united to launch a major statewide campaign called “Families Not Politics.” Led by One Colorado, the campaign urges voters to reject a pair of anti-trans ballot measures aimed at school athletics and healthcare access. The coalition brings together prominent civil rights and community organizations, including Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains, Cobalt, Inside Out Youth Services, the Interfaith Alliance, Black Pride, and The Center on Colfax.
The campaign centers on opposing two specific initiatives backed by Protect Kids Colorado, a group led by activist Erin Lee. Initiative 109 seeks to alter state statute to define boys and girls strictly according to physical anatomy at birth, barring transgender girls from participating in school-sponsored female sports teams. Meanwhile, Initiative 110 seeks to prohibit healthcare professionals from performing gender-affirming surgical procedures on minors, while also blocking state funds and Medicaid reimbursement for gender-affirming care.
Advocates argue that these proposed measures represent an invasive intrusion into personal medical choices and school environments, placing vulnerable youth at risk. During the campaign’s launch at the Colorado State Capitol, Nadine Bridges, executive director of One Colorado, outlined the high stakes involved for families across the state: “Taken together, these measures represent a level of government overreach that goes too far. They threaten the privacy of our families, undermine the freedom to make personal decisions, and risk dignity and well-being of young people across our state. And we are not going to let that happen.”
Opponents of the ballot measures emphasize that the proposed restrictions would harm not only transgender youth, but all children by opening the door to invasive privacy violations and bodily scrutiny. Speaking at the campaign launch, Mike Smith, a veteran and father of two cisgender children, warned of the broader societal risks, stating that Initiative 109 would “create a system where any child can be questioned, scrutinized, or singled out.” He urged voters to consider fundamental principles of privacy and parental rights: “This is about whether we trust parents to raise their kids. It’s about whether we stand for freedom and dignity. And it’s about whether we allow the government to invade my children’s privacy so that people who want to divide us can divide us even more.”
This mobilization builds on One Colorado’s track record of defeating anti-LGBTQ+ ballot proposals. In 2024, conservative activists introduced 30 separate ballot initiatives through the state Title Board aimed at rolling back LGBTQ+ rights, ranging from healthcare restrictions to forced outing policies in schools. Through legal and community opposition, One Colorado and its coalition partners successfully defeated 27 of those initiatives at the Title Board level, while the remaining measures failed to collect sufficient signatures, ensuring zero anti-trans initiatives reached the 2024 ballot. Through the “Families Not Politics” campaign, One Colorado is once again mobilizing voters and community leaders to protect bodily autonomy, privacy, and equality across the state.
