One of the worst aspects of the transgenderism movement is that by enforcing their social mores on the rest of society, they encroach on the rights of others. Nothing exemplifies this more than when states run by the radical Left enact laws that penalize parents for trying to parent their children.

In Colorado last week, Democrat legislators preliminarily passed two bills that await a final vote. The first bill, HB25-1312, would classify parents who do not affirm their child’s pronouns, “deadname” them, or otherwise dissuade them from so-called “gender-affirming care” as child abusers and exerting “coercive control.” This bill also states that schools cannot enforce or create gender-specific dress codes. The second bill, HB25-1309, protects “gender-affirming care” and forces insurance companies to cover it.

For the record, “gender-affirming care” is actually gender mutilation.

Both are bad, but 1312 is worse. It empowers the state to remove kids from the custody of their parents if those parents steadfastly disagree with their child’s indoctrination into pro-transgender ideology. It also empowers crazy parents to exploit their trans-identifying child to win custody in divorce proceedings. Arguably, this bill virtually legalizes state kidnapping on behalf of an ideological cult that brainwashes its youthful followers online or through the schools.

Parent activist groups protested that they were not given a chance to weigh in and attempt to change hearts and minds. “A well-stakeholdered bill does not need to be discussed with hate groups,” Democrat State Rep. Yara Zokaie told her Republican colleague who was concerned. “And we don’t ask someone passing civil rights legislation to go ask the KKK their opinion.”

The truth is quite a bit different. “The state, under Democratic control, is facilitating the separation of children from their parents — not for abuse, but for refusing to affirm an ideology,” Lori Gimelshteyn, executive director of the Colorado Parent Advocacy Network (CPAN), explained. “HB25-1312 would cement that practice into law, allowing courts to treat a parent’s love, guidance, and belief as ‘coercive control.’ This is not support — it’s state-enabled kidnapping under the guise of compassion. Parenting is not a crime. It is a sacred responsibility to protect and raise a child with wisdom and care, even when it means saying no.”

As for the other bill, 1309, Colorado is demanding health insurance companies make “gender-affirming” healthcare a priority. As PJ Media’s Sarah Anderson pointedly commented, “I’m not an insurance expert in any way, shape, or form, but with so many people out there with legitimate life-threatening health concerns who are sometimes denied coverage, I can’t imagine my state’s politicians making this their priority. Never mind the fact that this would likely drive costs up for everyone.”

Colorado Democrats have a majority in the House and Senate, and they are using that majority to push forward as many far-left agenda items as possible. With the transgenderism movement losing sympathy with the country and out of common cause with the LGBs, one would think that legislators would steer more toward balanced issues that their constituents support. But no, radical leftists have only one direction: more left.

As for the parents of Colorado, they are now faced with a choice: Live in a state that forces them to comply with gender confusion, have their insurance premiums raised as a result of noncompliance, risk losing their children to this nonsense, or move. Perhaps there is another way: Vote out the radicals. In this case, though, that would take too long, and when a child’s well-being is on the line, parents don’t have time to wait while the state kidnaps their children.