🚨BREAKING Colorado state Rep. Yara Zokaie doubles down on comparing parental rights groups to the KKK, citing the Southern Poverty Law Center. Zokaie did so while defending a bill that would define "misgendering" and "deadnaming" as "coercive control" and would require courts to consider it in custody battles.😡 So,... parents who don't want to trans their kids should have their kids removed from them, and if these parents team up to form a group, they'll be demonized as hateful like the KKK. Got it. 🧵1/7show more

Zokaie had first compared parents groups to the KKK in a hearing on Tuesday. She attempted to explain why parental rights groups had been excluded from discussions on HB 1312, the bill in question. “A well-stakeholded bill does not need to be discussed with hate groups, and we don’t ask someone passing civil rights legislation to go ask the KKK their opinion,” she quipped. 🧵2/7

Two House Republicans slammed Zokaie's remarks. “Calling parental advocacy groups ‘hate groups’ is just their excuse to marginalize and ignore them while maintaining a pretense of moral superiority,” @COrepKdeGraaf told me. @RepCaldwell said the comparison uses “inflammatory labels that are only meant to create division” and “dismisses the valid concerns of parents.” 🧵3/7

Where did she get the idea?🤔 When Zokaie doubled down, she referenced "a list of hate groups maintained by one of the most well-known civil rights law firms." She was referring to the Southern Poverty Law Center. For those unfamiliar, the SPLC gained its reputation by suing KKK groups into bankruptcy. But it has long since squandered that reputation. Today, it smears mainstream conservative and Christian groups by placing them on a map with Klan chapters. In 2023, it added parental rights groups like @Moms4Liberty and @DefendingEd to the "hate map." 🧵4/7

The SPLC isn't exactly the most reliable source. Its list of scandals is quite long. Here's a sampling (for more, check out my first book, "Making Hate Pay: The Corruption of the Southern Poverty Law Center"): 1⃣SPLC apologized after branding Ben Carson an "extremist" for supporting traditional marriage. 2⃣SPLC paid $3M to settle a defamation lawsuit. 3⃣SPLC fired its co-founder amid a racial discrimination and sexual harassment scandal. 4⃣A former employee called the "hate" accusations a "highly profitable scam." 5⃣The SPLC has its own union, which has now accused it of union-busting😲 6⃣The SPLC currently faces a defamation lawsuit that may expose it further. The SPLC is one of the "most well-known" law firms, yes. It's one of the most notorious. Trust me, there's even more. 🧵5/7

So why silence dissenters?🤔 Oh, probably because the bill is awful. Seriously, it's heinously bad. @heritagekristen put it well when she told me HB 1312 "seeks to impose radical gender ideology on Colorado families by penalizing parents for ‘misgendering’ or ‘deadnaming’ their children in custody disputes, effectively weaponing the state against parents who prioritize biological reality and constitutional rights over compelled speech.” “It erodes local control by mandating schools abandon gender-based dress codes and forcing businesses to comply with subjective identity demands under the threat of fines.” “This bill is an open assault on parents’ rights and free speech,” Christensen added. 🧵6/7

For the full story, click the link below⬇️ 🧵7/7

@JanuaryDoNoHarm Unbelievable, that such a horribly messed up person could be an elected leader of a large population. That's despicable screwball cult talk.

@JanuaryDoNoHarm Seriously

Today, we remember Reyhaneh Jabbari, a 26-year-old Iranian woman EXECUTED for defending herself against RAPE. Imagine facing death simply for saying "No"! Western women, stand with us in amplifying Reyhaneh’s voice and all women in Iran who risk everything for their dignity and rights. #ReyhanehJabbari #WomanLifeFreedom

Wouldn't this be considered compelled speech, a violation of the 1st Amendment?

You would think so. They try to get around that by calling it discrimination and harm