Colorado voters could help victims of domestic and sexual abuse – Mother Jones

Colorado State Representative Monica Duran has authored a bill that would help fund victim services in the state through an excise tax on firearms and ammunition.David Zalubowski/AP

When Monica Durand, the leader of the Democratic majority in the Colorado House of Representatives, she was 19 years old, she ran away from domestic violence with her young son and did what many survivors try to do: she ran to a shelter and sought consultancy.

“You’ve been hearing for so long that you’re worthless,” Durand told me. According to her, the support she received after leaving helped her understand that “I was worthy, i did has something to offer.”

Like intimate partner violence continues to growsuch services are critical to helping victims of domestic and sexual violence. But as I found out during my recent investigation for Mother Jonesaccess to them has become increasingly difficult due to years of cuts in federal funding from the backlog of money created by the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA). Colorado is no exception. The state did not receive $31.3 million in VOCA funds in the 2017 fiscal year approximately up to 13.6 million dollars last fiscal yearwhen the money went to support more than 125,000 victims — mostly women — of domestic violence or sexual assault, according to the Justice Department show.

Like most states, Colorado has struggled to stave off the worst effects of funding cuts, with state lawmakers earmarking millions of dollars for affected programs. But those providers are still struggling after years of sharp cuts in federal funding. Roshan Kalantar, Executive Director Colorado without violencestatewide coalition against domestic violence, said some have had to close offices and cancel legal advocacy services that help victims file for divorce or obtain emergency protective orders against abusers. There may be more soon. “We have at least two programs that could be shut down,” Kalantar told me last week, “but many others will be severely limited.”

Durand and Kalantar try to avoid such results. They are among those behind a ballot measure that, if approved by voters next month, would create a new funding stream for victim services in the state by implementing a 6.5 percent excise tax on firearms and ammunition starting next April, when it will take effect. The measureknown as Proposition KK, would provide approximately $39 million in annual revenue, the bulk of which — $30 million — would go to support VOCA-funded services for victims of crime and crime prevention programs in Colorado. The rest of the money will go to mental health services for veterans and youth, as well as to increase security in Colorado public schools. A bill that proposes election measures have passed at the Colorado General Assembly in May, most Democrats support it, and most Republicans oppose it. If voters support the measure, the tax would not apply to firearms dealers who make less than $20,000 a year, law enforcement or active-duty military personnel.

Supporters— including a democratic one Governor Jared PolisThe National Network to End Domestic Violence and Everytown for Gun Safety say Prop KK will boost much-needed services in the state and could serve as a model for other states trying to come up with innovative ways to respond to federal VOCA cuts. Seeking help after intimate partner violence, Durand said, “is a matter of life and death — that’s how serious it is.”

Tax on Firearms have drawn fierce opposition from the gun lobby. Institute for Legislative Action of the National Rifle Association, the organization’s lobbying unit, said earlier this year that the proposal “should be seen as nothing more than an attack on the Second Amendment and those who exercise their rights under it,” and pointed to a similar measure in California, which previously imposed an 11 percent excise tax on firearms weapons and ammunition. this year and appeared before the court challenge for being unconstitutional.

Several Colorado pro-gun groups, including the state chapter of the NRA, the Colorado State Rifle Association; Rocky Mountain Gun Owners; and Rally for Our Rights—also opposed Prop KK, noting that firearms and ammunition are already taxed by 11 percent at the federal level. Ian Escalante, executive director of Rocky Mountain Gun Owners, said in a video posted on X: “It’s the anti-gun radical left trying to punish gun owners for exercising their rights.” Spokesmen for the three state-level groups did not respond to requests for comment Mother Jones.

Duran, who said she is a gun owner, said she is “disappointed that this has been turned into a Second Amendment issue,” especially because of domestic violence and shortages resources to support victims is a “crisis”. Kalantar believes the gun and ammunition tax in Prop KK is appropriate given the role firearms often play in intimate partner violence. Studies have shown that more than half of domestic violence homicides involve the use of weapons and access to firearms makes this outcome more likely. Last year, Colorado recorded 58 cases of domestic violence, more than three-quarters of which were caused by weapons, according to the data liberated this month by the state Attorney General’s Office. “It’s very fitting that the people who make money selling guns in Colorado should participate in the healing” of survivors, Kalantar said.

If the measure passes, blue benchThe Denver-based Sexual Violence Prevention and Support Center, which served about 7,000 survivors last year, is one organization that will benefit from this new revenue stream. Executive Director Megan Carvajal says VOCA funds make up half of the budget, the payment of consultants who provide therapy sessions for survivors 24-hour hotline they can call in a crisis, as well as managers who offer support in hospitals and police stations after attacks. Carvajal learned in June that the latest Blue Bench VOCA award would be less than $650,000 — a 40 percent decrease from the previous year’s budget — which would mean layoffs for three therapists, two case managers and a community educator who visits schools to talk . about informed consent and healthy relationships. The organization will also have to vacate its Denver office space by the end of the year and switch to mostly remote work, Carvajal said.

If Prop KK doesn’t pass, and organizations like Blue Bench face further funding cuts, Carvajal’s forecast is bleak: “People are going to die.” research assumes that more than 30 percent of women consider suicide after rape and more than 10 percent attempt it. More than half of all suicides involve firearms, and the number of suicides by firearms is highest in states with the fewest gun laws. according to KFF analysis data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. For Carvajal, the work she and other human rights defenders are doing is important to reducing these statistics, but only with adequate funding.

“If you pick up the phone and someone says, ‘I believe you,'” Carvajal said, “it can change your mindset from wanting to die to wanting to live.”

If you or someone you care about is experiencing or is at risk of experiencing domestic violence, contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline by texting “start” to 88788, calling 800-799-SAFE (7233), or contacting thehotline.org. The Department of Health and Human Services also drafted a list of organizations by state

If you or someone you care about is at risk of suicide, contact the 988 Suicide and Crisis Helpline by calling or texting 988 or go to 988lifeline.org.