A faith-based association is urging pastors and members of the Southern Baptist Convention in Colorado to speak out against a bill that seeks to penalize “deadnaming” and “misgendering” as discriminatory actions and mandate the courts to include such claims in determining the allocation of parenting time in custody cases.

House Bill 1312 has already passed through the House on a 36-20 vote and is scheduled to be heard by the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday.

Broadly speaking, “misgendering” means not using an individual’s preferred pronoun, while “deadnaming” refers to using transgender persons’ birth names instead of their preferred names.

Sponsors said the measure shores up protections for transgender individuals and argued it would lead to equitable application of school rules ensure that supporting their child’s gender identity cannot be “weaponized” against parents.

“This bill is the least we can do” for transgender residents, said bill sponsor Rep. Rebekah Stewart D-Lakewood.

In a post on X, the Center for Baptist Leadership urged members of the convention’s 300-plus churches in Colorado to join a rally being organized by a group called Fight 1312 at the Capitol on Wednesday afternoon before the judiciary committee meeting.  

“Baptists have a long history of defending religious liberty,” the X post from the Center for Baptist Leadership said. “Will we answer the call now in Colorado when the stakes are sky high?”

The group said the bill poses a “significant threat” to parental rights, children’s rights, religious liberty, and First Amendment freedoms.

Fight 1312 describes itself as a “small group of Colorado pastors and faith leaders from small churches across the state” that has organized to oppose what it described as assaults on people’s “God-given liberties.”

A second bill that would protect transgender individuals’ access to “gender-affirming care” is also scheduled to be heard by Senate Judiciary on Wednesday. 

“Gender-affirming care” includes social, psychological or medical interventions for transgender children and adults, such as hormone therapy and surgical procedures, notably double mastectomies and genital surgeries. 

Critics of medically transitioning minors have said America is now an outlier and many European countries, after embracing “gender affirming care,” now emphasize psychological care over the transition of young people. 

Supporters of affirming transgender identity have often pointed to a Education Week report, citing research that said “affirming transgender students can improve their mental health and academic outcomes.”