Colorado's Progressive Pattern of Liberty Infringement and First Amendment Failures

Colorado, once a beacon of rugged individualism and independence, has developed a troubling pattern in recent years: repeated and aggressive infringements on individual liberty, particularly targeting religious expression and freedom of conscience. While the U.S. Supreme Court has stepped in multiple times to defend these liberties, Colorado’s government continues to push a heavy-handed progressive agenda that runs afoul of the First Amendment.

Few cases illustrate this better than that of Jack Phillips, a local Lakewood baker who became a national figure when he declined to create a custom wedding cake for a same-sex couple due to his Christian beliefs. Phillips never refused to sell products to anyone; his objection was specific to using his artistic expression to endorse a message contrary to his faith...

Lori Smith, a graphic designer and owner of 303 Creative, faced a similar challenge. She wanted to expand her business to include wedding websites, but feared the state would compel her to design messages that contradicted her religious convictions...

These are not isolated incidents. They are evidence of a consistent pattern: a state government willing to trample individual liberty in pursuit of ideological conformity...

Take Camp IdRaHaJe, a Christian camp that recently faced pressure from the state to comply with nondiscrimination policies that could require them to enact policies that violate the camp’s religious beliefs including having trans-identifying minors bunking and using restrooms with other campers of a different gender...

The latest threat comes in the form of HB25-1312, which was just signed into law by Governor Jared Polis. While cloaked in the language of equality and anti-discrimination, this law will dramatically expand the state’s power to regulate religious and conscience-based institutions...

It should not take repeated trips to the nation’s highest court to protect freedoms that are supposed to be foundational...