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Manny Rutinel, a far-left state legislator and House candidate in Colorado’s 8th Congressional District, voted in support of a bill that instructed courts to take pronoun use into consideration as a factor when deciding child custody cases.
In particular, the Kelly Loving Act required courts to deem “deadnaming” and “misgendering” as a kind of coercive control
“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 initially read when Rutinel voted for it.
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Rep. Manny Rutinel, democratic candidate for the 8th Congressional District, poses for a portrait at the house Chamber of Colorado State Capitol building in Denver, Colorado on Friday, February 20, 2026. (Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post)
Rutinel’s past vote in favor of the package is drawing scrutiny as he wages a bid to unseat incumbent Rep. Gabe Evans, R-Colo., in one of the country’s most competitive congressional races, raising questions about his position on parental authority when it comes to issues like gender.
To at least one Republican strategist, the vote speaks for itself.
“Far-left liberal Manny Rutinel wants the government to take away your kids if you don’t adopt his radical transgender agenda. Disgusting and disqualifying. Rutinel will be resoundingly rejected by Coloradans this fall,” Zach Bannon, a spokesperson for the National Republican Congressional Committee, said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
Rutinel’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the bill or what led him to support it.
The Kelly Loving Act, named after a 40-year-old transgender woman who was one of the five victims in the 2022 Club Q mass shooting in Colorado Springs, deals largely with how the state plans to handle preferred pronouns.
It would allow residents to change the sex designation on official documents like birth certificates and state identification and, for schools that make policies about names, instruct education providers to include “all reasons” that a student might adopt a name different from their legal one.
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Colorado State capitol building photographed in Denver, Colorado on Wednesday, May 11, 2022. (Hyoung Chang/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images)
The bill would also make it a “discriminatory practice” and unlawful to publish materials that misgender a person.
The bill passed out of the Colorado House of Representatives in a 40-24 vote.
At the time of its passage, the bill drew criticism from groups like the Colorado Parent Advocacy Network that filed lawsuits against the bill, citing First Amendment concerns.
“The Act’s new definition of ‘gender expression’ is unconstitutionally overbroad,” their lawsuit read.
“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.”
Notably, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, like Rutinel, did not issue a statement at the time of its passage despite controversy that had made it a matter of national attention.
Although the bill passed both chambers of the Colorado State legislature and was signed into law in May 2025, some of the most controversial provisions, including misgendering, were stripped out weeks after Rutinel’s vote. A number of cases, including the one from Colorado Parent Advocacy Network, are still under consideration.
COLORADO SUPREME COURT ORDERS CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL TO RESUME GENDER TRANSITION TREATMENTS FOR MINORS
WASHINGTON, DC – MARCH 4: U.S. Rep. Gabe Evans (R-CO) speaks at a news conference at the Republican National Committee after a meeting of the House Republican Conference on March 4, 2025 in Washington, DC. Republicans discussed their party’s priorities ahead of President Trump’s first joint address to Congress since returning to the White House. (Photo by Tierney L. Cross/Getty Images)
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Having clinched the Democratic nomination for his congressional bid last week, Rutinel will face off against Evans in the state’s general election on Nov. 3.
Evans won his seat in 2024 in a 49.0% to 48.2% victory over Democratic incumbent Rep. Yadira Caraveo, D-Colo.
