Enough with the scare tactics. Colorado voters deserve an honest discussion about Protect Kids Colorado’s ballot measures. If someone opposes these proposals, explain the objection accurately.
Proposition 135 prohibits surgeries intended to alter a child’s biological sex characteristics. Its text includes exceptions for specified medical conditions. Do not turn a surgery prohibition into a claim that all forms of counseling or medical care would disappear. It does not ban counseling, care, or even hormone medication.
Proposition 134 reserves female school and college sports teams for female athletes and permits mixed teams. Protecting female athletic opportunities and treating every student respectfully can go together. The proposal does not require genital inspections, despite claims suggesting otherwise. It does not prescribe a specific method for verifying biological sex.
Proposition 133 requires life in prison without parole for convicted child sex traffickers, a strong punishment intended to deter anyone from buying or selling children for sex. Victims forced or coerced into trafficking others are not subject to that same punishment. They retain a legal defense that can prevent conviction.
These measures offer protections I believe are necessary: stronger consequences for exploiting children, fair opportunities in girls’ sports, and postponing covered irreversible surgeries until adulthood. Voters can disagree, but the debate should be based on what the proposals actually say, not scare tactics.
Compassion and boundaries can coexist. Children deserve both, and voters deserve facts instead of fear.
Read the proposals, demand accuracy from both sides. Then vote “Yes” on Propositions 133, 134, and 135.
Cam Formby
Durango, CO
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