One Colorado's 2025 Legislative Report
One Colorado’s LGBTQIA+ Equality Legislative Report 2025
State of the Nation
In 2025, the attack on LGBTQIA+ rights has intensified across the country, with over 900 anti-LGBTQIA+ bills introduced in state legislatures—the highest number ever recorded in a single year. These bills attempt to criminalize gender-affirming care, restrict students’ rights to privacy and self-expression, censor books and curriculum, and erase the legal existence of transgender people. The scale of these efforts is vast and unrelenting. And yet, our movement has repeatedly proven that resistance is not only possible, it is powerful.
At the federal level, the Trump administration has issued a flurry of executive orders designed to roll back LGBTQIA+ rights under the guise of protecting children, women, and religious liberty. These actions target gender-affirming care, ban trans participation in sports, eliminate funding for DEI initiatives, strip away the ability to change gender markers on identification documents, and threaten providers with criminal charges. But courts across the country have stepped in to block some of the most dangerous aspects of these policies.
Thanks to rapid legal mobilization, four of the most harmful executive orders are currently under preliminary injunction, meaning they cannot be enforced while legal challenges proceed. Lambda Legal, GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD), the National Center for LGBTQIA+ Rights (NCLR), the ACLU, and PFLAG National have played leading roles in challenging these actions, winning injunctions that are protecting families in real time.
In PFLAG v. Trump, a federal judge ordered that hospitals must continue to receive federal funds for providing gender-affirming care to youth, directly blocking the administration’s attempt to cut off access to medically necessary treatment. In another case, Doe v. Bondi, a temporary restraining order forced the federal Bureau of Prisons to return transgender women to appropriate housing, pushing back on the administration’s attempt to erase their rights and dignity. Additional lawsuits, including Jones v. Trump and Schlacter v. U.S. Department of State, have successfully obtained preliminary rulings that preserve access to accurate passports, care continuity, and equal treatment under the law.
These victories underscore a critical truth: while federal agencies may move quickly to impose cruelty, our legal system, driven by the collective work of community outrage, public interest lawyers, and brave plaintiffs, can and does slow them down. Many of these cases are ongoing, but for now, they are holding the line. They are the reason a young person can still access their hormones at their pharmacy, a parent can still update a passport for their child, and a trans person behind bars can still be seen and treated as who they are.
Even in this era of political escalation, courts have signaled that targeting transgender people may still violate the Constitution. And every ruling in our favor reaffirms that our lives and rights are worth defending.
This moment is a reminder of what our movement has always known: progress is never inevitable, but it is always possible when we organize, when we resist, and when we fight back. As legal battles continue to unfold across the country, the LGBTQIA+ movement is once again proving that when our rights are under attack, we don’t stand alone, we stand together.
State of the State
Amidst an increasingly hostile national climate, Colorado remains a place where LGBTQIA+ people can live with dignity, safety, and self-determination. But our role as a sanctuary for our community is not static. It must be actively maintained. In 2025, One Colorado led and supported a range of legislative efforts to advance equality, expand access to care, and defend our community from coordinated political attacks.
Throughout the session, One Colorado’s team provided testimony 38 times across various committees and prepped over two dozen community members and organizational partners to speak directly to lawmakers. Together, we engaged with dozens of bills. Some were proactive, others defensive, but all were critical to protecting LGBTQIA+ lives. One of the most significant victories came with the passage of HB25-1309, a landmark law that requires private insurance to cover gender-affirming care in Colorado. This bill not only strengthens insurance coverage but also removes testosterone from the state’s prescription drug monitoring program, a step forward in protecting trans people from unnecessary surveillance.
While we celebrated progress, we also stood on the front lines to defeat a coordinated wave of harmful legislation. From bills that sought to criminalize providers of gender-affirming care to attempts to roll back reproductive freedom, our coalition pushed back with clarity and collective force. Many of these bills mirrored national attacks, repackaged with local language but rooted in the same ideology of control and erasure.
Our organizing extended beyond the legislature. In collaboration with Colorado Civic Engagement Roundtable, we co-founded the Colorado Legislative Network, a space for real-time information sharing among advocacy groups across the state during legislative session. We also launched early efforts to counter the threat of two anti-trans 2026 ballot initiatives. These initiatives aim to keep transgender youth from accessing gender affirming surgeries and ban trans girls from school sports. They are cruel by design and part of a larger strategy to isolate trans youth and drive division in our communities.
Through every hearing, vote, and organizing meeting, one truth remained clear. The fight to protect LGBTQIA+ Coloradans is not theoretical. It is unfolding right now, and it demands all of us to show up and fight back against these escalating legislative attacks. In 2025, we demonstrated again that when our communities are threatened, we rise, we mobilize, and we win.
What’s Next: The Road Ahead for LGBTQIA+ Rights
Our fight for LGBTQIA+ liberation has always been shaped by those who stood at the crossroads of injustice and still chose to rise. Black lesbian feminists in the Combahee River Collective taught us that none of us are free unless all of us are free. This wisdom grounds our movements in the reality that racism, sexism, classism, and homophobia are deeply intertwined. Long before “intersectionality” was coined, their organizing made that truth undeniable.
Leslie Feinberg, transgender rights activist and author, carried that vision forward, showing us that the struggle for trans liberation is inseparable from the fight for workers' rights, racial justice, and economic dignity. These were not abstract ideals; they were survival strategies forged by people whose very existence challenged the systems trying to erase them.
From Compton Cafe to Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (STAR), from ACT UP to today’s youth-led organizing, we come from a rich lineage of people who refused to be silent, who believed in each other’s worth, and who understood that solidarity is how we win. We are carrying forward a legacy of defiance and collective imagination, of people who dared to fight for a world where all of us can live and thrive, not in spite of who we are, but because of it.
We are witnessing one of the most coordinated efforts in recent history to erase the rights of LGBTQIA+ people, especially transgender youth. But we are not powerless. In Colorado and across the country, our communities are fighting back with renewed clarity and commitment.
In 2026, One Colorado will continue to meet this moment with strength and purpose. Our work will focus on:
- Defending Colorado’s sanctuary policies, including through proactive legislation that protects the privacy of trans people navigating legal name changes
- Fighting anti-LGBTQIA+ ballot initiatives through coalition-based organizing, voter education, and strategic opposition
- Expanding civic engagement across Colorado, especially in rural and underserved communities, through programs like our Trans Changemaker Cohort and the Freedom for All Coloradans campaign
- Litigating when necessary, including supporting ongoing legal challenges to harmful executive orders and federal rollbacks
- Elevating youth and BIPOC voices in shaping the state’s policy agenda, including deeper engagement with student leaders and community feedback processes
We are building more than policy change; we are building power. Together, we are not only resisting harm but also reimagining what safety, freedom, and joy can look like for LGBTQIA+ people in Colorado.
In a moment where so much is at stake, we draw strength from those who came before us and from the belief that a better world is possible, if we fight for it together.
Supported Legislation
Bill 1:
HB25-1309
Protect Access to Gender-Affirming Health Care
Summary: HB25-1309 strengthened insurance protections for transgender Coloradans by requiring all private health plans to cover gender-affirming care. It also removed testosterone from the state’s Prescription Drug Monitoring Program, protecting patient privacy and reducing stigma.
Impact: By ensuring coverage for gender-affirming care and removing barriers to access, the bill promotes a more equitable and affirming healthcare system for transgender and nonbinary Coloradans. These protections help reduce discrimination in medical settings, improve mental and physical health outcomes, and affirm the right of all people to make decisions about their bodies and futures. HB25-1309 strengthens Colorado’s leadership in advancing health equity and protecting the dignity and well-being of LGBTQIA+ communities.
Sponsors
- Reps. Kyle Brown (D-12), Brianna Titone (D-27)
- Senators Lisa Cutter (D-20) and Julie Gonzalez (D-34)
Votes
- House Health & Human Services Committee: Passed 6-3
- House: Passed 39-21
- Senate: Passed 23-12
- Senate Concurrence in the House: Passed 42-23
Signed by Governor Polis: May 23, 2025
Bill 2:
HB25-1312
Legal Protections for Transgender Individuals
Summary: This bill expanded legal recognition and access for transgender and nonbinary Coloradans. It clarified anti-discrimination protections, extended shield law coverage to family court, required inclusive school policies, and simplified the process for updating identity documents and marriage records.
Impact: By removing barriers to accurate documentation and affirming inclusive practices across public systems, the bill strengthens dignity, safety, and legal recognition for LGBTQIA+ people in Colorado. It helps ensure that trans and nonbinary individuals are respected in schools, courts, workplaces, and everyday life—supporting their ability to live openly and access the protections they deserve.
Sponsors
- Reps. Lorena Garcia (D-35) and Rebekah Stewart (D-30)
- Senators Faith Winter (D-25) and Chris Kolker (D-16)
Votes
- House Judiciary: Passed 5-2
- House: Passed 38-20
- Senate: Passed 20-14
- Senate Concurrence in the House: Passed 39-24
Signed by Governor Polis: May 16, 2025
Bill 3:
HB25-1109
Gender Identity Certificate of Death
Summary: This bill required death certificates in Colorado to include a decedent’s gender identity in addition to sex assigned at birth. It ensured that transgender individuals can be memorialized in alignment with their lived identity.
Impact: By affirming a person’s gender identity in death, the bill honors the dignity and authenticity of transgender people and provides grieving families and communities with a more respectful and accurate way to say goodbye. It helps prevent misgendering in official records and reinforces the principle that every person deserves to be recognized for who they are, in life and in legacy.
Sponsors
- Reps. Karen McCormick (D-11) and Kyle Brown (D-12)
- Senator Mike Weissman (D-28) and Katie Wallace (D-17)
Votes
- House Committee: Passed 3-2
- House: Passed 38-26
- Senate: Passed 22-12
Signed by Governor Polis: April 17, 2025
Bill 4:
SB25-298
Remove Term Homosexuality from Criminal Code
Summary: This bill updated Colorado’s criminal code to remove the word “homosexuality” from the statutory definition of sexual conduct, eliminating outdated and stigmatizing language from state law.
Impact: By removing the criminalization of homosexuality from the legal code, the bill helps dismantle the legacy of laws that have been used to justify discrimination. It sends a clear message that LGBTQIA+ Coloradans deserve equal treatment under the law and are not defined by outdated or prejudicial language in state policy.
Sponsors
- Representatives Mandy Lindsay (D-42) and Meghan Lukens (D-26)
- Senator Lindsey Daugherty (D-19) and Paul Lundeen (R-9)
Votes
- House Committee: Passed 11-0
- House: Passed 64-0
- Senate: Passed 35-0
Signed by Governor Polis: May 30, 2025
Bill 5:
SB25-014
Protecting the Freedom to Marry
Summary: This bill repealed outdated statutory language in Colorado law that defined marriage as valid only between one man and one woman. Although unenforceable since the 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges decision, the provision remained in state statute until its removal through SB25-014.
Impact: By removing discriminatory language from statute, the bill affirms Colorado’s commitment to equality and protects LGBTQIA+ families from potential future legal threats. It ensures that state law fully reflects the reality of marriage equality and upholds the dignity and freedom of all Coloradans to love and build their families without fear of reversal or exclusion.
Sponsors
- Representatives Lorena Garcia (D-35), Rep. Brianna Titone (D-27)
- Senators Jessie Danielson (D-22)
Votes
- House Judiciary: Passed 7-1
- House: Passed 45-14
- Senate: Passed 29-6
Signed by Governor Polis:April 7, 2025
ONE COLORADO
303 E. 17TH AVE, SUITE 400
DENVER, CO 80203
ONE-COLORADO.ORG
One Colorado is the state’s leading advocacy organization dedicated to advancing equality and opportunity for LGBTQIA+ Coloradans and their families.
While every attempt has been made to ensure the accuracy of this report, One Colorado makes no warranties or representations regarding its accuracy or completeness. Each user of this product understands that One Colorado disclaims any liability that may result from the use of this report.
.png)
.png)
