As reported this week by our news affiliate Colorado Politics, lawmakers are promising a new foray against child trafficking when the 2026 legislative session convenes at the Capitol next week. It’s welcome news. Colorado is believe to be in the top 10 states for human trafficking.

Proposed, bipartisan legislation will turn up the heat on predators who buy children for sexual exploitation. Under current Colorado law, it’s a Class 4 felony, with penalties so low most offenders get probation rather than time behind bars. Under the pending proposal, buying children for commercial sexual exploitation will be a Class 3 felony, meaning no probation.

The measure will be introduced in the state Senate by Democratic state Sen. Dylan Roberts of Frisco — he’s a former assistant district attorney — and Republican state Sen. Byron Pelton of Sterling. The legislation not only has the support of lawmakers in both parties but also of Democratic and Republican leaders in the state House.

That level of bipartisanship is crucial in a legislature lopsidedly dominated by Democrats. Yet, it’s not a foregone conclusion — even when it comes to protecting our kids from some of the most repugnant crimes. You’d think such a black-and-white issue would rally unanimous support the proposal on both sides of the aisle.

We’ll see.

Don’t forget this is essentially the same legislature that, in the past several years, has decriminalized possession of some of the hardest illicit drugs; downgraded penalties for assorted violent and property crimes, and made parole easier for serious offenders in prison. Until a recent uptick in the state’s prison population, the legislature had succeeded in dramatically cutting the state’s incarceration rate over the years — as crime has soared.

And a lot of the legislature’s soft-on-crime tilt is the doing of a determined, noisy and wildly misguided fringe among ruling Democrats. They have drunk the Kool-Aid served up by advocates of the “justice reform” dogma, which seems to hold that even the most hardened, pathological criminals always deserve another chance. 

Which means that, despite some high-profile support in both parties for such a no-brainer of a bill, there’s no certainty it will pass. It easily could get bottled up in a committee, then be forgotten amid other pressing issues, and ultimately be pushed too far down the calendar for action before session’s end in May. It wouldn’t be the first time a popular bill went missing.

There are sure to be some hardcore justice reform devotees along the way who insist they want a more “evidence based” solution and might try to derail the bill — or water it down into a legislative “study” of the issue.

Because, you know, they’re not entirely sure putting twisted traffickers in prison will stop them from trafficking. 

It’s all the more reason to applaud Roberts and Democratic House Majority Leader Monica Duran of Wheat Ridge, among other Democrats who seem to get it. They realize the safety of our kids isn’t, or shouldn’t be, a partisan issue. It’s not about ideology.

We encourage them all to step up the plate for an important, and easy, yes vote on this matter.

Certainly, a few GOP lawmakers in recent years also have harbored misplaced misgivings about the need for law and order in maintaining a safe and decent society. But they are pretty scarce these days and, in any event, their party isn’t in power.

Democrats have an easy opportunity, with undoubtedly broad support, to protect Colorado kids. Let’s hope our worries are unfounded.