Denver could become one of the country’s more aggressive local governments when it comes to protecting transgender residents’ personal information, as city lawmakers advance an ordinance restricting how agencies collect, store and share data about sex, sexual orientation and gender identity.
The proposed Sex and Gender Identity Protection Ordinance moved forward Wednesday during a Denver City Council Health and Safety Committee hearing. Councilmembers are fast-tracking the measure toward a potential January 1, 2027, effective date.
The proposal would generally limit Denver agencies from requiring people to disclose information about their sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression unless collection is legally required or serves an important city purpose.
When such information is collected, some records would have to be destroyed after 30 days unless they fall under legal retention requirements or other specified exceptions. The ordinance would also restrict Denver agencies and law enforcement from assisting outside governments seeking covered information and require agencies to disclose what information they collect and submit annual compliance reports. Internal information sharing between Denver agencies would remain permitted.
Building a Data Firewall
Supporters argue those restrictions could become increasingly important as transgender laws vary dramatically between states.
Councilmember Stacie Gilmore offered the example of a transgender teenager whose family moved to Colorado from a state restricting gender-affirming care. If authorities in that state attempted to obtain information from Denver agencies about the teenager or family, Gilmore said the ordinance could prevent Denver from providing it.
Councilmember Shontel Lewis, another sponsor, said the measure responds to what she described as the growing targeting of transgender and gender-expansive people.
Transgender advocates testifying Wednesday similarly framed data privacy as part of making Denver safer for people relocating from states with more restrictive policies.
Z Williams, executive director of Denver-based Bread and Roses Legal Center, told councilmembers the organization has seen transgender people moving to Denver from elsewhere in the country.
Ashley Cordero, an attorney and co-founder of Del Pueblo Law, said Colorado and Denver have increasingly been viewed as a refuge from restrictive laws and argued that the ordinance would turn that reputation into concrete policy.
Questions and Opposition Remain
The proposal is not without critics. Councilmember Kevin Flynn has questioned how much would actually change because Denver does not yet have a comprehensive inventory of the sex- and gender-related information its agencies currently collect. Gilmore has said identifying that data is itself part of the ordinance’s purpose.
Opponents who spoke Wednesday argued the ordinance would provide transgender residents with protections unavailable to others and objected to the city’s approach to gender identity.
For transgender Denver residents, however, the ordinance raises a broader issue extending well beyond city limits: information handed to government for one purpose can potentially become useful for another.
Denver is now considering putting a legal wall around some of that data before someone comes looking for it.
