A far-left Colorado state legislator running for Congress voted to weaponize child custody courts against parents who refuse to adopt a radical transgender agenda — and voters are about to make him pay for it.
Rep. Manny Rutinel, the Democratic nominee in Colorado’s 8th Congressional District, supported the Kelly Loving Act, which instructed state courts to consider “misgendering” and “deadnaming” as coercive control when deciding custody cases.
That means if a parent refused to use a child’s preferred pronouns, the state could use that refusal to strip custody rights.
“A court shall consider reports of coercive control when determining the allocation of parental responsibilities in accordance with the best interest of the child.”
The bill passed the Colorado House 40-24 in May 2025, with Rutinel voting yes. The legislation was named after Kelly Loving, a 40-year-old transgender woman killed in the 2022 Club Q mass shooting in Colorado Springs.
Republicans are hammering Rutinel for the vote as he faces Rep. Gabe Evans in one of the country’s most competitive House races.
“Far-left liberal Manny Rutinel wants the government to take away your kids if you don’t adopt his radical transgender agenda,” said Zach Bannon, a spokesperson for the National Republican Congressional Committee. “Disgusting and disqualifying. Rutinel will be resoundingly rejected by Coloradans this fall.”
The Kelly Loving Act allowed Colorado residents to change sex designations on birth certificates and state IDs. It also required schools to include “all reasons” a student might adopt a name different from their legal one — effectively mandating that schools hide a child’s preferred name from parents.
The bill went further: It made “misgendering” a person in published materials a discriminatory practice under state law — a direct attack on free speech.
Parents groups immediately sued. The Colorado Parent Advocacy Network challenged the law on First Amendment grounds, arguing the bill’s definition of “gender expression” was unconstitutionally overbroad.
“Because it covers any treatment based on the use of a ‘chosen name’ or other forms of preferred ‘address,’ it punishes many forms of constitutionally protected speech.”
After the national backlash hit, Colorado Democrats quietly stripped the most controversial provisions — including the misgendering custody language — weeks after Rutinel’s vote. The amended bill was signed into law by Gov. Jared Polis, who never issued a statement on the controversy.
Multiple lawsuits are still pending.
Rutinel’s office did not respond to requests for comment on the vote or why he supported government control over parents who refuse to use preferred pronouns.
Rutinel clinched the Democratic nomination last week and will face Evans in the Nov. 3 general election. Evans won the seat in 2024 by less than 1% — defeating Democratic incumbent Rep. Yadira Caraveo 49% to 48.2%.
The race is rated one of the tightest in the country. Rutinel’s vote to empower courts over parents is now front and center.
