Colorado Senate Bill 24-189 was enacted on July 1 and adds protections for transgender and gender expressive individuals under a preexisting law that already does the same for Coloradans based on sexual orientation.
“The act adds transgender identity to the classes identified in bias-motivated crimes and harassment,” reads the bill’s summary. Furthermore, “The act redefines sexual orientation for purposes of bias-motivated crimes as a person’s orientation toward sexual or emotional attraction and the behavior or social affiliation that may result from the attraction.”
FBI data has shown an increase in hate crimes against transgender people in recent years. Colorado has been a pioneer state when it comes to LGBTQ+ rights and protections and is sometimes even referred to as a sanctuary state in regard to transgender individuals seeking affirming healthcare.
“Colorado has been a national leader when it comes to advancing equality and protections for our LGBTQ+ neighbors,” said Colorado Senator Chris Hansen, a sponsor of SB 24-189. “This bill will help protect Coloradans from violence or harassment based on their gender identity or gender expression, and will help ensure perpetrators of bias-motivated crimes are held accountable for their actions.”
People who commit a bias-motivated crime will have associated consequences.
According to Colorado Senator Rhonda Fields, another sponsor, it was no surprise that the bill, in fact, had bipartisan support.
“It’s a simple one-page bill but we added in specific language to identify transgender and nonbinary identities because they were missing,” Fields reiterated.
The new bill codifies those terms as they relate to bias-motivated crimes within Colorado’s criminal statutes. While the bill won’t result in any retroactive convictions, it can help future victims.
If a person classified under a protected class is a victim of a bias-motivated crime, they can report it to the police who are obligated to investigate to determine if the case merits relevant charges. If so, the prosecutor would then pursue the case as a biased-motivated crime.
Oftentimes, mandatory reporters will bring such accusations to light. Mandatory reporters in Colorado are defined as professionals who work with young people, seniors, people with disabilities or those who are part of a protected class under state law. Healthcare professionals, professors and counselors are examples of mandatory reporters.
Mandatory reporters are trained to report any kind of harassment, sexual assault, hate crimes, etcetera, but are not obligated to investigate cases themselves. Rather, that’s when law enforcement would step in.
Of course, there are other ways in which such accusations can reach a courtroom, including self-reporting.
“A mandated reporter, a parent, a neighbor or an individual themselves can report … a hate crime based [on] … gender identity,” explained Fields. “Ultimately how it’s going to be monitored and implemented is through the voice of the people.”
“Trial proceedings — appearing in front of a judge and jury — is disruptive, of course, to the survivor [but] it could also derail someone’s future knowing they were charged with a hate-motivated crime,” Fields concluded. “So I think it’s the right thing to do … A lot of things need to be updated because of the times.”
To review the SB 24-189, visit www.leg.colorado.gov/bills/sb24-189