Westword: Seventeen months after Jeff Hunt was booted from the Colorado Senate gallery for wearing a pro-life sweatshirt, the Capitol has removed the rule banning political apparel in its galleries.

The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) announced the rule change on Wednesday, August 14, and it was confirmed to Westword by two legislative spokespeople. Just last month, FIRE sent a letter to the House and Senate, threatening to sue the chambers if they continued to enforce the ban, alleging that it violates First Amendment freedom-of-speech protections.

“If there is one place where the constitutionally protected rights to free speech and free expression should be protected, it must be our State Capitol,” Hunt says, adding that he is “very satisfied” with the rule change. “It was a bad rule, often selectively enforced. … We have advanced the free-speech rights of all Coloradans at the people’s house!”

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