(Jacob Bruns, Headline USA) Citizens visiting Colorado’s state capitol will now be able to wear political apparel after the State capitulated to a recent lawsuit, according to the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression.
On May 21, Jeff Hunt visited the Colorado State Senate session to express his opposition to bills regulating crisis pregnancy centers.
In order to make his opinion known, Hunt wore a sweatshirt that said “Pro-Life U” on the front. As a result of his attire, Hunt was confronted by Colorado’s Capitol Police, who claimed that Hunt’s shirt violated a rule that citizens cannot wear attire making political statements inside the legislative chambers.
After being booted from the capitol, Hunt—partnering with FIRE, a free speech and thought advocacy group—penned a letter on July 16 and sent it to leaders of the Colorado House and Senate.
Weeks prior to the Hunt incident, police allowed teenagers to attend sessions in pro-gun-control apparel, once more exposing America’s two-tiered justice system for what it is: a system that favors leftist causes on the grounds that they are scientific while dismissing conservative causes on the grounds that they are merely “political.”
FIRE attorneys pointed out that double-standard in a letter sent to top officials in the Colorado House and Senate, who eventually agreed to rescind their ban on apparel that expresses political sentiments.
“I am thrilled at this outcome,” said Hunt after the ban was lifted. “Now, Coloradans are free to share their voices, particularly at the state Capitol, where the work of the people takes place.”
According to FIRE attorney Josh Bleisch, Hunt “should have been allowed to express his opinions in a non-disruptive manner.”
Bleisch also celebrated the decision by noting that “Coloradans can wear a political shirt where politics happens.”
Colorado has become increasingly blue since becoming the first state to legalize recreational marijuana in 2006, and its Democrat leaders accordingly have grown increasingly authoritarian.
In 2017, the Colorado Civil Rights Commission sought to force Jack Phillips, the owner of Lakewood’s Masterpiece Cakeshop, to yield to its demand that he bake a pro-LGBT cake that violated his Christian beliefs.
The Supreme Court later ruled that the state had no authority to compel speech from a private individual or business.
