The vote by a Colorado state legislator and congressional candidate on a bill that impacted child custody cases is drawing scrutiny as he wages a bid to unseat a Republican incumbent in one of the country's most competitive congressional races.
The bill, which aimed to take pronoun use into consideration when deciding child custody cases, was initially met with controversy, with critics arguing that it would allow for coercive control in the name of protecting children's identities.
The bill, which was eventually passed by the Colorado House of Representatives, included a provision that deemed "deadnaming" and "misgendering" as a form of coercive control, with courts required to consider this factor when allocating parental responsibilities.
The vote by Manny Rutinel, a far-left state legislator and House candidate in Colorado's 8th Congressional District, has raised questions about his position on parental authority and his willingness to support radical changes to the state's laws.
Rutinel's opponent, Rep. Gabe Evans, has seized on the vote as evidence of his opponent's radical agenda, with a spokesperson for the National Republican Congressional Committee calling Rutinel's vote "disgusting and disqualifying."
The bill, which was named after a 40-year-old transgender woman who was killed in the 2022 Club Q mass shooting in Colorado Springs, aimed to make it easier for residents to change the sex designation on official documents and for schools to include preferred names on student records.
However, the bill also included provisions that critics argued were unconstitutional, including a ban on publishing materials that misgendered individuals and a definition of "gender expression" that was seen as overly broad.
The bill passed both chambers of the Colorado State legislature and was signed into law in May 2025, but some of its most contentious provisions were later stripped out in a compromise.
Rutinel has faced criticism for his support of the bill, with some arguing that it would allow for the government to take away children from parents who do not conform to the state's views on gender identity.
The controversy surrounding Rutinel's vote is likely to continue to play out in the lead-up to the state's general election on November 3, where Rutinel will face off against Rep. Gabe Evans.
Rutinel's vote has also raised questions about the views of Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, who supported the bill and did not issue a statement at the time of its passage despite controversy.
The outcome of the election will be closely watched, with many seeing it as a key test of the country's increasingly divided views on issues like gender identity and parental authority.
