State Lawmaker Compares Parents Opposed To Pro-Transgender Bill To KKK

A Colorado state lawmaker drew backlash by claiming that parental rights groups opposed to a bill on children’s gender identities are “hate groups” similar to the Ku Klux Klan.

Democratic State Rep. Yara Zokaie said there is no room for “difference of opinion” during a hearing that began Tuesday on the “Kelly Loving Act.” The Democrat-backed bill labels parents’ skepticism of a “transgender” child’s identity as a form of “coercive control” that could cost them custody rights.

“We don’t get to have a difference of opinion over somebody’s basic rights,” Zokaie said in closing remarks. “And recognizing that trans people exist is not a matter of political opinion.”

🚨 SHAMEFUL 🚨

Last night during closing statements on HB25-1312, Transgender Protections, two House Judiciary members referred to traditional parental rights groups as “hate groups” & compared them to the KKK. #coleg #copolitics pic.twitter.com/G0aP9zpJF2

— Rep. Jarvis Caldwell (@RepCaldwell) April 3, 2025

The legislation, named after someone murdered at a gay nightclub in Colorado, passed in a House Judiciary Committee vote at the end of the nearly 13-hour hearing.

Republican state representatives had raised concerns that the legislature did not include enough “stakeholder” groups opposed to the bill to testify, including “parent groups.” Zokaie said there was no need.

“A well-stakeholded bill does not need to be discussed with hate groups,” Zokaie declared. The official audio recording of the hearing captured someone exclaiming “exactly” in response to the statement.

“We don’t ask someone passing civil rights legislation to go ask the KKK their opinion,” Zokaie added.

Zokaie did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

The bill says that in parental custody disputes, “courts shall consider deadnaming, misgendering, or threatening to publish material related to an individual’s gender-affirming health-care services as types of coercive control.”

“Deadnaming” is how LGBTQ activists refer to calling someone by the name they used before identifying as transgender. (RELATED: ‘Absolutely Nuts’: Blue State Bill Aims To Jail Those Who ‘Misgender’ Dead People)

A parent’s “coercive control” of a child can be a factor in judges’ custody decisions, according to the bill.

The Colorado Parent Advocacy Network joined Republican State Rep. Jarvis Caldwell and other critics online in calling out Zokaie’s comments.

“Democrats dropped HB25-1312 late on a Friday, gave the public barely 48 hours to respond, and then had the audacity to compare concerned parents to the KKK when they showed up,” the group said in a Tuesday X post. “This isn’t representation. It’s government overreach dressed up as progress. And voters are watching.”

The legislation also contains several other pro-transgender provisions. It would prevent other states from enforcing their own laws against Colorado residents that make it a crime for parents to give their minor kids sex changes. Additionally, it would ban school dress codes that are “based on gender” and classify “deadnaming and misgendering” as “discriminatory acts in places of public accommodation.”

It would also require school policies on students’ “chosen names” to be “inclusive of all reasons that a student might adopt a chosen name that differs from the student’s legal name.” Anyone in the state required to submit their name to “a public entity” would also be able to give a “chosen name.”

Tuesday’s hearing also caught the attention of Dr. Travis Morrell, a Colorado-based physician who has spoken out against mounting transgender bills in the Democrat-controlled legislature. Morrell is a senior fellow with the medical ethics group Do No Harm.

“This is the most viewpoint-inbred leadership our state has ever had,” Morrell said Tuesday.

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact [email protected].