Eric and Sara Smith, owners of Born Again Used Books, are a 21-year-old Christian bookstore in Colorado Springs, suing state officials over a new law prohibiting discrimination against transgender and non-gender people based on their choice to address transgender and gender.
The lawsuit expands the Colorado anti-discrimination law and challenges Kelly Loving Act, named after the transgender woman killed in the 2022 ClubQ shooting signed by Democratic Gov. Jared Police in May.
The law extends the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act to prohibit discrimination in employment, housing, public accommodation and advertising based on “gender expressions.”
The law also updates the process by which transgender and non-binary people change names or gender markers in their identity documents, and these changes take effect on October 1, 2026. Official JournalColorado Springs-based newspaper.
Smith argues that the law contradicts the religious belief that gender is fixed in a binary-born state and violates First Amendment rights by encouraging people to engage in speeches that reject them.
“Born Again is happy to sell books to everyone, but Colorado forces bookstores to speak using pronouns and titles based on the gender expressions that people like.
“Bookstores cannot speak against their beliefs,” the release continues. “So the store cannot use pronouns, titles, or other languages that are contrary to a person’s biological sex, to confirm the view that a person’s sex should be changed in order to do so.
The lawsuit filed in federal court against the Colorado Civil Rights Commission, departmental director Aubrey Sullivan, and Attorney General Phil Weiser alleges that the law violates the bookstore’s initial constitutional review rights by imposing government-mandated speeches on transgender identity. The law also argues for laws that limit the ability to fully express the ability of a born book to its customers and fully express the market.
“With constant pressure to distinguish it from a big chain, independent bookstores exhausted the shelves and atmosphere to hit the right themes, including religion, thrillers, local interests, LGBTQ,” the lawsuit states. “There is no business infringing editorial discretion or conveying bookstores what to say, affirmative views, or a selected aspect of the ideological discussion.”
The lawsuit argues that if the reborn book does not adopt the state’s preferences views about gender and gender, it could face “suspension and negativity orders, expensive investigations, hearings, and large fines.” Christian Post.
The case is the latest in a series of lawsuits brought by an alliance defending freedom on behalf of Christian business owners who argue that non-discrimination laws, including LGBTQ, are violating their rights. The group previously represented Colorado Baker, who refused to make wedding cakes for same-sex couples, and website designers who sought a waiver to avoid creating wedding websites for same-sex couples.
One of Colorado, the state’s largest LGBTQ advocacy groups, argued that laws were necessary to protect the rights of transgender and non-binary individuals identified in a way consistent with gender identity.
“Equal laws are not only about creating hope, but about creating a better reality,” Nadine Bridges, executive director of Colorado, said in a statement.
Source: Metro Weekly – www.metroweekly.com
