8 APRIL 30-MAY 6, 2026 westword.com WESTWORD | MUSIC | CAFE | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | NEWS | LETTERS | CONTENTS | Call Elaine Lustig, PhD ......................................................... at 303-369-7770 Needing Your Emotional ....... Animal W/ You? For eligible people who need their emotional support animal to accompany them at/or away from home, I am available to provide the documentation and counseling. CREDIT CARDS ACCEPTED Last Call IN HIS FINAL SESSION, SENATOR NICK HINRICHSEN FEELS FREE TO FIGHT FOR THOSE ON THE FRINGES. BY HANNAH METZGER Senator Nick Hinrichsen received more threats and vitriol in four weeks this session than in his prior four years in the Colorado Senate. A Pueblo Democrat representing one of the most politically competitive Senate districts in the state, Hinrichsen is gener- ally considered a moderate. Since entering offi ce in 2022, his bills have largely centered on transportation, housing and veterans issues. But things changed during the 2026 legislative session. Hinrichsen is the lead sponsor of several surprising policies this session, including ef- forts to decriminalize prostitution, prohibit underage marriage and remove cohabitation from the state’s bigamy ban. The shift toward progressive social issues was unplanned, he says, attributing each bill to conversations with community members. But it was an ideal time for Hinrichsen to take such big swings: He is not running for reelection in November in order to spend more time with his family, so this will be his fi nal legislative session. “I knew [the bills] would potentially be politically costly. Not having an election in front of me made it easier,” Hinrichsen says. “There are plenty of issues where the popular opinion doesn’t match the data, the academic research, the facts on the ground. We who have the privilege of serving here have a responsibility to not be solely politi- cal animals.” Backlash has been swift and intense, particularly regarding sex work decriminal- ization. On a Facebook post announcing the bill, commenters called Hinrichsen “evil,” suggested he should be tarred and feathered and accused him of soliciting prostitution. Hinrichsen says “horrifi c” messages have targeted his wife and teenage son, as well. “It’s been really tough, but I’m also proud of it. I believe in these issues,” he says. “The same thing underlines all three of the bills: Consenting adults should not be inhibited by the government, and kids should always be protected. ...Because of a moral recoil, we have statutes that restrict liberty. The effects of those restrictions are very harmful for a narrow set of folks involved.” Hinrichsen has dedicated his fi nal session to fi ghting for that narrow set of folks, some of whom asked for his help directly. He was inspired to introduce the sex work decriminalization bill after speaking to a constituent who is a sex worker, he says. Fear of arrest often forces sex work- ers underground, leaving them even more vulnerable to physical and economic abuse, the constituent told Hinrichsen. First-hand accounts also inspired the other two bills. Hinrichsen says the child marriage ban came from a constituent who reached out to him about the challenges she was facing while trying to divorce a man she married when she was a minor. A legal center brought the bigamy bill to him; while working on it, he connected with a constituent who was a survivor of domestic abuse, and said the abuser was weaponizing the law’s cohabitation lan- guage in the division of assets and custody proceedings. “It’s not an issue area that I really thought I would focus on. Trains, buses and housing — that’s what I came here for,” Hinrichsen says. “But standing up for people’s freedoms is why I joined the military. The ability to live free and pursue happiness, whatever that means to you, is something I treasure. I’ll stand by that.” Hinrichsen is still addressing several of those core issues in 2026, sponsoring measures related to property taxes, farming, and the Front Range passenger rail district. He’s also sponsoring bills to protect combat sports athletes, add more transparency to county coroner fi nancial records and restrict prosecutions of fi rst-degree extreme indif- ference murders. His more controversial bills have found mixed success. Hinrichsen pulled the pros- titution decriminalization bill because it did not have enough support to pass out of committee. The bigamy update bill passed with bipartisan support and was signed into law in March. The child marriage ban is still under consideration and undergoing amend- ments; it has received pushback from both those who support underage marriage and those who fear the bill would unintentionally threaten abortion rights for minors. Even if the policies don’t make it across the fi nish line, Hinrichsen hopes that just getting the measures considered will show his constituents that they have a place in the Colorado State Capitol, and that everyone is worthy of political representation. “One of the worst experiences” he’s had in offi ce, he recalls, was back in 2023. Follow- ing a meeting with Pueblo business owners, Hinrichsen says a local landlord demanded that he drop his attempt to pass a for-cause eviction bill, proclaiming, “We are your constituents. You work for us.” Hinrichsen pointed to a couple at a bus stop carrying their belongings in large back- packs and said, “They are my constituents, too.” The landlord responded, “They don’t do anything for this community. They don’t matter,” Hinrichsen remembers. “It ignited a shift to the left in my politics. Especially since then, I want to hear out those who are ostensibly unworthy of being heard, because I don’t think that exists,” he explains. “I felt that same sentiment very viscerally in this building regarding the sex work decriminalization bill. As if this space doesn’t belong to those kinds of folks. “If I can put some cracks in that glass bar- rier, I want to do that. It’s always worth it.” Email the author at hannah.metzger@westword. com. NEWS KEEP UP ON DENVER NEWS AT WESTWORD.COM/NEWS “I want to hear out those who are ostensibly unworthy of being heard, because I don’t think that exists,” State Senator Nick Hinrichsen says. RYAN MACOUBRIE
