(COLORADO SPRINGS)– Multiple groups are suing the state of Colorado over the Kelly Loving Act only days after Governor Jared Polis made it a law.

The new law expands transgender protections in Colorado, with those behind the suit claiming it violates free speech and parental rights.

“What’s at stake here is the protections for transgender Coloradans,” said Ollie Glessner, communications and advocacy director for Inside Out.

The Kelly Loving Act is named after a transgender woman who was killed in 2022 during the Club Q shooting in Colorado Springs. Under the new law, intentionally misgendering or dead-naming someone is considered a discriminatory act.

“The bill should have never been written,” said Darcy Schoening, and member of Moms for Liberty.

The Kelly Loving Act has been a controversial discussion topic since it was proposed, and now it is heading to court after parent advocacy groups filed the lawsuit to make sure the law does not go into effect.

“Colorado now is passing these laws to make sure that we keep our protections in state no matter what, and not only that, but we also expand them to some of the things that are under attack right now,” said Glessner.

But some parents do not agree with how the new law will affect their children.

“My daughter doesn’t have the ability to choose who she shares her safe spaces with,” said Schoening.

Kelly Loving Act aims to reinforce existing transgender rights

The act allows a person’s chosen name to qualify as gender expression, which is protected under the Colorado anti-discrimination act. That means if a person intentionally misgenders or dead-names a transgender person, they are breaking state law.

“I dare you to come after me for telling the truth, for calling a man, a man,” said Schoening.

When Glessner first changed their name, they said it was hard on their parents to understand at first.

“When I changed my name, I know it was really difficult for my family because they had named me for a purpose, you know, and that purpose then seemed lost or changed for them,” they said.

The group Defending Education is behind the lawsuit, filed on behalf of the Colorado Parents Advocacy Network and Protect Kids Colorado groups, and they think the law could violate their first and 14th amendment rights.

“To compel somebody to refer to somebody as a gender that they’re not and say that it’s criminal if the person doesn’t do it, is a really dangerous precedent,” said Schoening.

But Glessner said it is not compelled speech, instead it is respect: “People will say that making them call someone by their chosen name or pronouns is compelled speech, and frankly, nothing else in our society operates that way.”

The new act would also impact schools, setting new requirements for dress codes and bathrooms for school districts to follow.

“When you take rights, and you say, my feelings are now more important than those of a child or a parent or a family member and law should be written for my feelings,” said Schoening.

“Your feelings are valid if you’re grieving the loss of what you hoped for your child,” said Glessner.

State Attorney General Phil Wiser, who was named in the lawsuit, said he is not commenting at this time, and neither is Governor Jared Polis.