Colorado Flies a Flag in Honor of Hate Group 'Gays Against Groomers'

Colorado – a state led by an openly gay governor – honored Gays Against Groomers, which the Southern Poverty Law Center has designated a hate group, by flying the group's flag over the state capitol, according to local news station 9News.

The honor was bestowed through a paid state program that "allows people to honor a person or a group by requesting a flag and a certificate with a message of their choice to be signed by the governor," 9News detailed.

In other words, Gays with Groomers dictated its own congratulatory message, which, the news report said, thanked the group "for all of its work to protect children."

However, according to the SPLC, Gays with Groomers "amplifies dehumanizing anti-trans rhetoric [and]perpetuates anti-LGBTQ+ stereotypes by falsely claiming that LGBTQ+ supporters of trans rights are dangerous to society," the news report noted.

The state quickly backpedaled, saying that the group's request for a flag to be hoisted in its honor was not "properly vet[ted]," while a spokesperson for Gov. Polis spoke out against "hate in all its forms".

The paid program has been discontinued, at least temporarily, in the wake of the incident.

But the group has seized on the moment, News9 detailed posting "an image of the certificate on social media Monday, writing, 'Gays Against Groomers would like to thank Colorado Governor Jared Polis for his public recognition for our hard work in protecting children across the state. It means so much to us'."

News9 went on to detail how the "group taunted Colorado's first openly trans legislator with the honor, posting to Democratic state Rep. Brianna Titone on X, 'how bout dem apples?!?!'"

Polis himself has no direct knowledge of which groups request or are granted flags through the paid program, the news report detailed. Tony Gheradini, the head of the Colorado Department of Personnel & Administration, called the honor an "unfortunate misstep," the news site reported.

"At the time of request, DPA 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," Gheradini said in a written statement. "We are taking internal steps to ensure that a more thorough vetting occurs going forward."

For its part, Gays Against Groomers slammed the SPLC as "biased," and said that the watchdog organization "spreads misinformation to line their own pockets and foment hate and violence against people who do not align with their ideological agenda."

To watch the 9News report, follow this link.