{"id":428,"date":"2024-10-22T16:33:57","date_gmt":"2024-10-22T16:33:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/macroron.com\/?p=428"},"modified":"2024-11-03T23:12:27","modified_gmt":"2024-11-03T23:12:27","slug":"endorsement-fund-services-for-victims-with-a-tax-on-guns-yes-on-proposition-kk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/macroron.com\/index.php\/2024\/10\/22\/endorsement-fund-services-for-victims-with-a-tax-on-guns-yes-on-proposition-kk\/","title":{"rendered":"Endorsement: Fund services for victims with a tax on guns. Yes on Proposition KK."},"content":{"rendered":"

If a crime or tragedy happens in Colorado, the second person a victim talks to after the police is often an advocate from one of the dozens of organizations primarily funded by a dwindling pot of federal money<\/a>.<\/p>\n

These organizations offer a critical service for Coloradans. Whether it\u2019s a domestic violence organization offering shelter to a mother and her two children after police arrive to a dangerous situation involving a gun or a volunteer from the district attorney\u2019s office sitting for hours with a family after someone has committed suicide in a home \u2013 victims\u2019 advocates are essential to helping Coloradans recover from the unimaginable.<\/p>\n

However, the funding from the federal Victims Crimes Act is not only unreliable but is drying up, leaving these organizations across the state to make tough decisions about how many victims they can serve and the level of service they can offer. Does the mother fleeing her own home get a week\u2019s stay in the shelter and legal aid, or just one night and an ex-parte form to file on her own? Does a family get put in a hotel room while the location of the suicide is processed by detectives, or must they find their own place to stay at 3 a.m. without a credit card or any other personal belongings?<\/p>\n

Coloradans have a chance during this election to give these critical services the funding they need.<\/p>\n

Proposition KK<\/a> would levy a state-wide 6.5% excise tax on large gun and ammunition sellers in Colorado.<\/p>\n

The hope behind this new tax is not to reduce the number of guns sold in the state, but rather to generate revenue to fund critical services for the victims of crime. Not all crisis services involve a gun, but we do know that if a gun is involved in a crime, domestic violence incident or suicide attempt, the outcome is worse.<\/p>\n

Already, the federal government charges an 11% tax on most gun and ammunition sales. Colorado lawmakers decided last year to ask voters to add another 6.5% onto that to fund state-wide victims programs. The fund will raise an estimated $39 million and the first $30 million will go through the existing board to award grants for victim assistance. After that, $8 million will go to the Behavioral and Mental Health Cash Fund ($5 million of which is earmarked for veterans programs) and $1 million to the School Security Cash Fund, both of which are administered by lawmakers in the General Assembly.<\/p>\n