Tyler O’Neil
Colorado’s Democratic governor, Jared Polis, did not respond to concerns that his administration would rely on the Southern Poverty Law Center to exclude conservatives from a state flag program after his office apologized for honoring a gay organization the SPLC brands a “hate group.”
Polis’ signature appeared on a document celebrating the Colorado chapter of Gays Against Groomers, a group of lesbian, gay, and bisexual people who oppose experimental transgender medical procedures on children. The SPLC—which vehemently supports transgender interventions for children and labels mainstream conservative and Christian organizations “hate groups,” placing them on a map along with chapters of the Ku Klux Klan—branded Gays Against Groomers an “anti-LGBTQ Hate Group” in June.
Colorado state Rep. Brandi Bradley, a Republican, paid to fly Colorado and United States flags above the state Capitol in the name of Gays Against Groomers on Oct. 1. The state suspended the flag program Tuesday, amid criticism regarding the group.
The program allowed people to purchase honorary flags for as little as $26. Customers would fill out an online form with the message of their choice to appear on a certificate with the state seal and the governor’s signature.
The governor’s office and the administrative agency in charge of the flag program both pledged to update their vetting procedures.
“Hate has no place in Colorado, and Gov. Polis denounces hate in all its forms,” Polis spokeswoman Shelby Wieman told the local NBC News affiliate KUSA-TV. “The administration is taking active internal steps to ensure more vetting is conducted on these types of requests today and in the future.”
Tony Gherardini, executive director of the Colorado Department of Personnel & Administration, apologized for the “unfortunate misstep,” according to a memo to state legislators provided to KUSA-TV.
“At the time of request, [the department] was unaware Gays Against Grooming [sic] has been designated as a hate group by the Anti-Defamation League and did not do our due diligence,” Gherardini wrote. “We are taking internal steps to ensure that a more thorough vetting occurs going forward.”
Gays Against Groomers’ Response
“It’s wrong that the governor would want to make decisions about who can or cannot have an American flag flown over their own state Capitol,” Rich Guggenheim, head of the Colorado Gays Against Groomers chapter, told The Daily Signal in a statement Wednesday.
“We hope that as Colorado updates their ‘vetting’ policies, they will start utilizing stakeholder feedback and be inclusive of everybody’s perspectives,” he added. “The SPLC is biased and spreads significant misinformation to line their own pockets and foment hate and violence against gay people who do not align with their ideological agenda against the safety of innocent and still-developing children.”
Polis is the first openly gay man to serve as Colorado’s governor.
As I wrote in my book, “Making Hate Pay: The Corruption of the Southern Poverty Law Center,” the SPLC gained its reputation by suing Ku Klux Klan groups into bankruptcy, but later took the program it used to monitor the Klan and transformed it into a fundraising tool that also shames its political and ideological opponents. A former SPLC employee called the “hate” accusations a “highly profitable scam,” and critics on both the Right and the Left have publicly dissented from the SPLC’s “hate group” accusations.
The SPLC strongly advocates for experimental transgender medical interventions, which proponents euphemistically refer to as “gender-affirming care.” There is no conclusive evidence that these interventions improve the lives of those who undergo them, but the negative side-effects include seizures, cancer in teens, an increase in suicidal thoughts, sterility, and reduced sexual function.
Advocates such as Gays Against Groomers oppose these drugs and surgeries in part because they believe minors under the age of 18 cannot thoroughly understand the lifelong effects and therefore cannot provide informed consent.
In addition to gender ideology, the SPLC advocates for loose enforcement of immigration law and against parental rights in education, among other issues. It uses the “hate map” to demonize the groups that oppose its preferred policies.
The “hate group” accusation inspired a domestic terrorism attack in 2012 against the Family Research Council in Washington, D.C. The SPLC is currently facing a defamation lawsuit that cleared a major legal hurdle last year.
When the SPLC added Gays Against Groomers to its “hate map” this summer, it added four chapters: the group’s headquarters in Milwaukee, and three state chapters, in Missouri, North Carolina, and Washington. The Colorado chapter does not appear on the SPLC “hate map.”
No Response From Polis
The Daily Signal reached out to Polis and Gherardini, requesting comment about the “vetting” process and whether Colorado will consider the SPLC’s accusations when determining which groups can fly American and Colorado flags above the state Capitol. The Daily Signal asked how they would respond to criticism that reliance on the SPLC might exclude conservatives based on their viewpoints. Neither responded by publication time.
