Pueblo Pride 2023 Grand Marshals
Marlo Esgar-Palm, Heather Palm, and County Commissioner Daneya Esgar
SCEA is excited to announce our 2023 Pride Parade Marshals! Each member of the Palm-Esgar Family has made a sigificant impact on LGBTQ+ rights in Colorado. In 2022, House Bill 1153 was introduced by then House Majority Leader Esgar developed through stakeholding with LGBTQ+ Coloradans, and specifically brought forward by Heather Palm, wife to Commissioner Esgar and mom to Marlo.
Formerly the “Family Affirmation Act,” the bill was amended during its April 1st Senate hearing to be named in honor of Marlo, daughter of Co-Prime Sponsor and then House Majority Leader Esgar and her wife, Heather Palm. The eponymous title reflects the inspiration, grit, courage, and beauty the Esgar-Palm family embodies and their efforts–in collaboration with other families across Colorado–to ensure that all parents and children have equal protections under state law.
HB22-1153 updates Colorado law to ensure that all parents who conceive through assisted reproductive technology (ART), regardless of gender identity, sexual orientation, or marital status, are eligible for the same rights and legal protections. Previously, Colorado law had largely not been updated since the invention of ART, and consequently, families formed through ART faced legal discrimination and barriers in achieving guaranteed, nationwide legal recognition. HB22-1153 creates a simplified, streamlined adoption process designed for parents who conceive through ART, and it modernizes Colorado’s outdated parentage laws so that rightful parents are not denied legal recognition, their children are not denied legal protection, and families are not denied the respect and dignity they deserve.
