The Republican Party of Colorado on Monday officially reprimanded four elected GOP officials for joining Democrats in defending a Montana lawmaker who was kicked out of the chamber while defending gender-affirming concern for that state’s youth.
Colorado’s new Republican Chairman Dave Williams announced the rebuke Wednesday morning in a fundraising email brimming with anti-trans and anti-drag rhetoric. The email and formal resolution admonished state Representatives Ron Weinberg and Rick Taggart, Castle Pines Councilman Roger Hudson and Douglas County Commissioner Abe Laydon, all Republicans.
Weinberg, a Republican from Loveland who just completed his first legislative session and is one of only 19 members of his caucus, said he felt let down by his party for standing up for First Amendment rights. Republicans have less power and less representation in Colorado’s state government than at any time since World War II.
“They went out of their way to eat their own food,” Weinberg said of the fundraising letter. “This was meant to make Republicans look bad. It was not a simple ‘declaration and read the letter’. It was a blatant attack on Republicans.”
The four Republicans signed a letter in May written by State Representative Brianna Titone, an Arvada Democrat, to call for the full reinstatement of Montana Democratic State Representative Zooey Zephyr in her chamber.
Zephyr was banished in April from speaking on the floor of the Montana House of Representatives. She had refused to apologize for telling colleagues they would have “blood” on their hands if they supported a ban on gender-affirming care for young people and later an outcry erupted in the room in support of her. The Republican-controlled chamber voted she violated decorum rules. Studies show that trans youth are at increased risk of suicide without gender-affirming care.
Titone wrote the May letter in support of “a lawmaker doing what it’s told: stand up and speak on behalf of voters on issues that directly affect them.” Titone also called Zephyr’s removal “another attempt to erase and silence transgender people in the face of rising violence, threats to their lives, and laws that seek to deny their humanity and basic human rights.” Titone, like Zephyr, is a trans woman.
In addition to the four Republicans, all of the Democrats in the Colorado House of Representatives, most of the Senate Democrats, Treasurer Dave Young, Secretary of State Jena Griswold, and several local elected leaders signed the letter.
The Colorado Republican’s resolution singles out the four Republicans for their “disgraceful actions” in “helping radical Democrats score political points by spreading lies against Montana House Republicans.”
The resolution makes only passing mention of the gender issues at play, noting that Zephyr’s attempt was to “prevent a bill that would ban so-called ‘gender-affirming care’ in Montana.” But Williams’ fundraising letter is led by images of people cross-dressing with children. In one image, a drag queen appears to be reading a book while children sit on others’ laps. In the second, a child appears to be interacting with a drag performer with dollar bills sticking out of the waist of their outfit.
Weinberg, who just finished his first term in the House, said his “jaw dropped to the floor” when he saw the fundraising email. He said he had heard about the possible solution weeks before and Friday again, but his questions to Williams about it went unanswered.
For him, the whole issue was about First Amendment rights and the ability of an elected representative to represent their constituents. He summed up his position with the adage that while he may not agree with the other person, he will still defend their speaking skills. He felt the philosophy especially poignant after a session in which House Democrats regularly invoked chamber rules to end debate during Republican filibusters.
“They treated Rep. Zephyr like a dog, put her outside the room, while the Republicans in Colorado groan — groan — over rule 14 and 16 and get shut down,” Weinberg said, referring to house rules to limit debate. It’s a double standard if we don’t say anything. That’s how I understood it.”
He added: “This has nothing to do with transgender. This is about what happened, and what happened is wrong.”
Williams did not respond to requests for comment. While the party’s fundraising began to dwindle before he was elected as new chairman, it has so far also failed to pick up under his tenure – marking this as a remarkable attempt to open pockets.
Hudson, the member of the Castle Pines City Council named in the resolution and also Deputy Chief of Staff for the Colorado House Republicans, disagreed with the process behind the resolution. In addition to the vote being held on a holiday, Juneteenth, it also lacked proper 30-day notice.
Hudson said he only signed Titone’s letter “to use my advantage against the bullies of the Colorado Democrats in the future” about the Denver debate being shut down. The committee’s admonition instead only serves to further damage a historically stunted Republican party and take time away from more pressing issues, he said.
“I can’t speak to Dave Williams’ motives in passing a resolution that would limit the free speech of any Colorado American or duly elected Republican — but I’m sure it wouldn’t hurt a single Coloradon’s property taxes. lower housing for Colorado families, or make our communities safer,” Hudson said in a text message. “Nothing has changed for me – despite this unprecedented action or while our state party goes bankrupt under the current leadership; I will continue to work for the people of Colorado and my great town of Castle Pines.
Douglas County Commissioner Abe Laydon, in a letter to the Republican Executive Committee provided to the Denver Post, also defended his signing of the letter under the First Amendment.
“As chairman of the board of directors of the last conservative county in the Denver metro area, who has also served as vice chairman and treasurer of the Douglas County Republican Party, I will continue to actively fight against censorship, book burning, and any other fascist behavior that our brave men and women in the army fought and died to be victorious,” said Laydon. “I am confident that you, as intelligent, right-minded Colorado Republicans, will also continue to honor what our flag stands for and never bow to those who would censor speech, even speech we may not agree with.”
Taggart did not respond to a request for comment.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.