The College Fix

State’s Anti-Discrimination Act can lead to civil actions for intentionally ‘misgendering,’ ‘deadnaming’

A Colorado-based athletic apparel company is suing various state officials over the right to “speak truthfully about the biological differences between men and women.”

According to the Alliance Defending Freedom, XX-XY Athletics — “the only athletic brand to stand up for women’s sports” — refers to individuals by their biological sex.

But under the recent expansion of Colorado’s Anti-Discrimination Act, intentionally misgendering or “deadnaming” a person can result in a formal civil complaint.

HB25-1312 defines “deadnaming and misgendering as discriminatory acts in the ‘Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act,’ and prohibits these discriminatory acts in places of public accommodation.”

The ADF says the law would require the XX-XY company “to address male customers who identify as female as females” and “businesses to avoid any statement or advertisement that indicates customers are ‘unwelcome’ based on their gender expression and chosen name.”

“In its advertising and customer interactions, XX-XY Athletics refers to male athletes and customers as male, but because Colorado’s law claims that Coloradans have a right to access public accommodations and advertising “free of discrimination” based on gender expression and chosen name, XX-XY Athletics’ free speech rights are under threat,” the ADF said in a press release.

Although violations of the law technically are civil, not criminal, in nature, the ADF contends “any person who perceives discrimination” can file a complaint leading to penalties of up to $3,500 and “even criminal penalties.”

MORE: Univ. may expel law student for alleged ‘aggressive’ pointing and ‘misgendering’

Jennifer Sey, a “national gymnastics champion” and former Levi Strauss executive, founded XX-XY to “giv[e] a voice to those advocating to protect women’s sports.” She says “legacy athletic brands will not stand up for female athletes who are losing competitions to men.”

The lawsuit notes XX-XY “uses its platform to draw attention to men and boys who compete in women’s sports,” and believes using biologically incorrect pronouns and “chosen names” “would perpetuate a lie.”

“Whether men should be allowed to compete in women’s sports is a political and cultural question of great importance,” the suit states. “The government has no need or right to compel or silence speech to place a thumb (or an anvil) on one side of that debate. Our Constitution demands better.”

Colorado Civil Rights Division Director Aubrey Sullivan, Attorney General Phil Weiser, and various members of the Colorado Civil Rights Commission are named as defendants in the suit.

Among other things, XX-XY seeks from the court declarations that the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act violates the company’s First Amendment rights, and that its “Unwelcome Clause” violates the U.S. Constitution’s First and Fourteenth Amendments.

MORE: Dept. of Education investigates conservative scholar’s ‘misgendering’ of DEI official

IMAGE CAPTION AND CREDIT: Lawsuit sits atop a judge’s desk; Ulf Wittrock/Shutterstock.com

Like The College Fix on Facebook / Follow us on Twitter