DENVER Hours after he was sworn into office, President Donald Trump issued an executive order calling for the U.S. government to only recognize two genders male and female.The order itself requires any federal program statutes, regulations or documents to only acknowledge males and females. The order also requires the same to be reflected on passports and other IDs, doing away with the "X" gender option.Officials with One Colorado, the state's largest LGBTQ+ advocacy organization, said they've been preparing for an executive order just like this. The group hopes shield laws put in place at the state level will offer some protection to those whose rights are about to be impacted.Colorado has passed several laws that protect members of the LGBTQ+ community, including Protections for Accessing Reproductive Health Care Law (2023) and Identity Documents for Transgender Persons Law (2019). In 2023, lawmakers also passed updated health insurance rules that made Colorado the first state in the country to include gender-affirming care services as essential health benefits. "The federal government cannot change our laws here. They can create new laws at the federal level that could supersede what we have in Colorado, but executive orders generally cannot do that. What they can do is tell federal agencies to handle gender and sex categories differently and to handle funding differently," said Jax Gonzalez, political director at One Colorado.Trump's executive order requires federal agencies, including the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), to realign policies to recognize only males and females. Transgender rights advocates said the move could impact Coloradans if funding is cut to local programs that recognize transgender people."We have many shelters who receive federal funding. They are going to have to change rules at the federal level for what that funding can and can't be used for. And what's most likely going to happen is that we're going to see immediate litigation against the federal government to keep those decisions from going into action," said Gonzalez.As for how gender is listed on IDs, advocates say requiring only male or female options will be a challenge to enforce in Colorado. Jude's Law, which passed in 2019, simplified the process for Coloradans to change their legal name and gender on their IDs and birth certificates both of which are managed by the State of Colorado. "It would be relatively hard for the federal government to figure out which Colorado-specific IDs have been changed or to figure out which Colorado-specific name changes are related to trans people," said Gonzalez.There are already legal challenges against some of Trump's executive orders. Gonzalez said it's likely this order will face litigation, as well. "The reality is the majority of that executive order will be fought against and will not immediately go into implementation. So while it's big and scary to see that kind of information come from the federal government, what we know is that it is not going to be immediately implemented. And so, think about how to care for yourself and your family," they said.Gonzalez encourages anyone who disagrees with the order to find a community organization to help advocate for state-level rights."It's not that we are safe per se in Colorado, but that we have an incredible amount of people who are leaders, who are government officials, who are people in charge of systems and decisions who are in our corner, who are willing and ready to push back against federal regulations that would negatively impact people here in Colorado," they said.One Colorado will be working on a project over the next four years called Transforming the Narrative, which aims to uplift the stories of transgender Coloradans. The group said the goal is to showcase that LGBTQ+ Coloradans want the same rights as everyone else.The organization is hosting its 2025 LGBTQ+ Lobby Day on Feb. 3. Community members have an opportunity to communicate their needs to lawmakers. You can register through this link.