9News reports that House Bill 26-1255, a Colorado bill inspired by the Evergreen High School shooting, was headed for a final Senate vote with Gov. Jared Polis signaling strong opposition and a possible veto. The bill would require social media companies to notify law enforcement when they restrict or suspend user accounts over posts involving specific, imminent threats, and it would require platforms to comply with search warrants within 24 hours.
The bill’s sponsor, Democratic Rep. Tammy Story of Jefferson County, says the measure was shaped by the social media angle of the Evergreen shooting. She said concerning posts were identified and reported through outside channels, but the information arrived too late for authorities to intervene. Polis’ office, meanwhile, told 9News the bill could make social media companies act as a proxy for government surveillance and may infringe on First and Fourth Amendment protections.
When Jared Polis, Governor Gaslight himself, looks at a Democratic bill and says, “Whoa there, comrades, that smells like government overreach,” you know the thing must be wearing jackboots and carrying a clipboard.
The Bullet Point Brief
- House Bill 26-1255 would force social media platforms to alert law enforcement when they take adverse action against a user over posts involving specific, imminent threats. Nothing says “limited government” like deputizing Silicon Valley into the pre-crime department.
- The bill also requires platforms to comply with law enforcement search warrants within 24 hours. That may sound tidy in a press release, but constitutional rights are not a customer-service ticket.
- Rep. Tammy Story says this is not government overreach because platforms are using their own rules and processes first. Cute theory. Still sounds like government waiting by the phone for private companies to flag speech.
- Polis’ office said the bill may infringe on free speech and Fourth Amendment protections. Again, if Polis is the one warning about the Bill of Rights, the canary is not just dead. It has filed a whistleblower complaint.
- Republican Sen. Lisa Frizell also raised constitutional concerns and questioned whether the policy would actually have prevented the Evergreen tragedy. That is the question lawmakers should ask before turning grief into statute.
My Bottom Line
This bill is awful.
And yes, I know where it came from. A school shooting is horrifying. Parents are scared. Communities want answers. Legislators want to do something. That instinct is human. But “do something” is not a governing philosophy. It is how bad law gets baptized in grief and then marched straight through the Bill of Rights wearing a ribbon.
The First Amendment is not a suggestion. The Fourth Amendment is not a speed bump. Government does not get to outsource surveillance pressure to private platforms and then pretend its hands are clean because some tech company clicked the first button. If the state wants information, get a warrant, follow the Constitution, and do the hard work law enforcement is supposed to do.
This is exactly how liberty gets chipped away. Not usually with a villain twirling a mustache. Usually with a sad story, a press conference, a grieving community, and politicians promising that just one more government power will finally make everyone safe. Spoiler alert: it never stops at one more.
If Polis vetoes this, good. Credit where due. I do not say that often about Governor Gaslight, so mark the calendar. But the fact this bill got this far tells you everything you need to know about the ruling elitist Democrats under the Gold Dome. They see a tragedy, and instead of asking how to protect people while preserving constitutional rights, they reach for state power first and read the Bill of Rights later, probably while looking annoyed that it exists.
Source: 9News
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