Evergreen community reacts to Polis' social media bill veto

Added: 2026-06-02

[00:00:00]Democratic Governor Jared Polis vetoed four bills this week, including one created after the Evergreen High School shooting. The bill would have required social media companies to report online threats. Supporters say that could have prevented the shooting in Evergreen.

[00:00:14]9News reporter Ria Jha was in Evergreen today to hear from community members who had pushed for that bill and are still rallying even after the veto.

[00:00:22]>> Governor was actually invited here to Buchanan Park in Evergreen for what was supposed to be a rally urging this bill to pass. But even though it was vetoed this week, supporters still showed up wanting to make clear that they are not walking away from this cause.

[00:00:36]>> The original purpose of this rally was to celebrate getting this bill across the finish line and to urge Governor Polis to sign it into law.

[00:00:44]>> The purpose of this rally changed, but it wasn't canceled.

[00:00:48]>> Just as the Evergreen community has epitomized the never give up spirit, we are not giving up, either.

[00:00:54]>> This bill, drafted after the Evergreen shooting, would have required social media companies to respond to warnings within 24 hours and to alert law enforcement when they flagged certain online threats.

[00:01:05]>> Unfortunately, yesterday the governor decided to veto the bill.

[00:01:09]>> The governor's office said the bill could put social media companies in the role of policing people's posts for the government.

[00:01:15]>> see a threat on social media that someone says, "I'm going to kill so-and-so tomorrow," you're allowed to pick up the phone and call the police. Why don't we require that same humanity from social media companies?

[00:01:25]>> The governor also cited concerns about free speech and privacy.

[00:01:29]>> The bill was not about limiting free speech or bypassing a due process.

[00:01:34]Judicial approval and probable cause would still have been required before information could have been released.

[00:01:39]>> Parents, teachers, and students from Evergreen High School also spoke saying they believed this bill could have helped law enforcement act sooner to stop the student who shot two classmates before killing himself last fall. His social media posts before the shooting were reported to the FBI by the Anti-Defamation League.

[00:01:56]>> Had this bill been in place, we wouldn't be here. For families like mine, this bill represented a practical effort to close a very obvious gap that feels all too real to us.

[00:02:07]>> The veto changed the outcome this year, but not their commitment to bring this fight back to the capital next year.

[00:02:13]>> And I put this shirt on that says Evergreen strong because Governor Polis, you can kick us while we're down, but we are not out.

[00:02:22]And it is not falling down, it is getting back up. [applause] And we will continue to fight with or without you.

[00:02:28]>> In Evergreen, Ria Jha, 9News.