Colorado Voters Can Help Victims of Domestic and Sexual Violence – Mother Jones

Colorado State Rep. Monica Duran is the sponsor of a bill that would help fund victim services in the state with an excise tax on firearms and ammunition.David Zalubowski/AP

Then Monica Duran, the Democratic majority leader in the Colorado House of Representatives was 19 years old, she escaped domestic violence with her son and did what many survivors try to do: she fled to a shelter and searched accompaniment.

“You’ve been hearing for so long that you’re worthless,” Duran told me. The support she received after leaving, she said, helped her realize that “I was worthy, i did have something to offer.”

As intimate partner violence continues to riseSuch services are critical to helping survivors of domestic and sexual violence heal. But as I learned during my recent research for Mother Jonesthey are becoming increasingly difficult to access due to a years-long decline in federal funding from a pot of money created by the Victims of Crime Act, or VOCA. Colorado is not exempt. The state did not receive $31.3 million in VOCA funds in fiscal year 2017 to approximately $13.6 million the most recent financial yearwhen the money was used to help support more than 125,000 survivors — mostly women who were victims of domestic violence or sexual assault, Department of Justice data shows shows.

Like most states, Colorado has tried to avoid the worst effects of the cuts, with lawmakers allocating millions of dollars to affected programs. But these providers are still struggling after years of declining federal funding. Roshan Kalantar, Executive Director of Violence Free Coloradosaid the Statewide Domestic Violence Coalition some have had to close office space and eliminate legal advocacy services, which help survivors file for divorce or obtain emergency protective orders against abusers. More could follow soon. “We have at least two programs that may be closed,” Kalantar said last week, “but many more will actually limit what they can do.”

Duran and Kalantar try to avoid these outcomes. They are among the forces behind a ballot measure that, if passed by voters next month, would create a new funding stream for victim services in the state by imposing a 6.5 percent excise tax on firearms and ammunition starting in April. come into force. The unit of measurementknown as Proposition KK, would generate an estimated $39 million in annual revenue, the majority of which – $30 million – would support VOCA-funded services for crime victims, as well as crime prevention programs in Colorado. The rest of the money would go to mental health care for veterans and youth and to increasing safety in Colorado public schools. The bill that proposed the ballot measure past during the Colorado General Assembly in May, with most Democrats supporting it and most Republicans in opposition. If voters support the measure, the tax would not apply to firearms sellers making less than $20,000 annually, law enforcement agencies or active duty military personnel.

Supporters– including Democratic Gov. Jared Polisthe National Network to End Domestic Violence and Everytown for Gun Safety – say Prop KK would strengthen 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. Getting support after intimate partner violence, Duran said, “is a matter of life and death — that’s how serious it is.”

The tax on firearms has led to strong opposition from the gun lobby. The National Rifle Association’s Institute for Legislative Action, the organization’s lobbying arm, said earlier this year that the proposal “should be viewed 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 and ammunition this year and was brought to trial challenge for being unconstitutional.

Several Colorado pro-gun groups, including the NRA state chapter, the Colorado State Shooting Association; Rocky Mountain Gun Owners; and Rally for Our Rights – have also opposed Prop KK, noting that firearms and ammunition are already taxed at the federal level 11 percent. Ian Escalante, executive director of Rocky Mountain Gun Owners, said in a video posted on X: “This is the radical anti-gun left trying to punish gun owners for exercising their rights.” Spokespeople for the three state-level groups did not return 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 as domestic violence and the shortage of resources to support survivors is “a crisis.” Kalantar believes the tax on guns and ammunition in Prop KK is appropriate, given the role firearms often play in intimate partner violence. Research has shown that more than half of domestic violence homicides involve a firearm and access to a firearm makes that outcome more likely. Last year there were 58 domestic violence fatalities in Colorado, more than three-quarters of them according to data caused by weapons issued this month by the attorney general’s office. “It feels very appropriate that people who make money selling guns in Colorado should participate in the healing of survivors,” Kalantar said.

If the measure succeeds, the Blue Banka sexual assault prevention and support center in Denver that served about 7,000 survivors last year is among the organizations that would benefit from this new source of revenue. says Executive Director Megan Carvajal VOCA funds make up half of the budget and pay for advisors who leading therapy sessions for survivors, the 24-hour hotline they can call in a crisis, and case managers who provide support in hospitals and police stations in the aftermath of assaults. In June, Carvajal learned that the Blue Bench’s latest VOCA award would be less than $650,000—a 40 percent reduction from the previous year’s budget—meaning layoffs of 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 move out of its Denver office space and into a largely remote location by the end of the year, Carvajal said.

If Prop KK is not passed and organizations like the Blue Bench face even further cuts, Carvajal’s prediction is bleak: “People will die.” Research suggests that more than 30 percent of women consider suicide after rape and that more than 10 percent attempt to do so. More than half of all suicides involve a firearm, and gun suicide rates are highest in states with the fewest gun laws. according to a KFF analysis from data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. For Carvajal, the work she and other advocates do is essential to reducing these statistics – but this is only possible with adequate funding.

“When you answer 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 domestic violence or is at risk of domestic violence, please contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline by texting “start” to 88788, calling 800-799-SAFE (7233 ), or continue to thehotline.org. The Department of Health and Human Services also has one list of organizations by state.

If you or someone you care about may be at risk of suicide, please contact the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting 988, or visit 988lifeline.org.