Colorado voters have approved Proposition KK, which creates a 6.5% tax on firearms and ammunition. The revenue will help fund programs like services for victims of violent crimes, mental health care for kids and veterans, and school safety. Supporters believed Proposition KK makes sense as a means of generating much-needed revenue for victims鈥� services by taxing the source of much of the trauma necessitating those services.
Colorado is experiencing a funding crisis for crime victim services, part of a nationwide trend resulting from large cuts in federal support through the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA). 鈥淚n Colorado in 2018, we received $57 million for victims鈥� services,鈥� said Democratic state Rep. Meg Froelich, who represents District 3. 鈥淭his year it will be $13 million and is expected to decline further.鈥�
With a tight budget and a constitutional requirement under the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights to return excess revenue to taxpayers, Colorado can鈥檛 allocate additional state funds for these services without voter approval.
Backers hope Proposition KK will create a stable and ongoing funding stream for victim services, ensuring that programs can continue to provide essential support. Unlike other proposed firearms legislation, this initiative does not regulate guns but instead levies a tax to fund programs.
The nonprofit Colorado Organization for Victim Assistance advocated heavily for Proposition KK鈥檚 passage. The organization offers victims鈥� services such as a crime victim emergency fund, as well as an internship program to train new victims鈥� services professionals.
鈥淲e know that agencies are on such slim margins, so any more decrease is going to mean major layoffs or potential closures, and it will leave victims of crimes without necessary services,鈥� said Courtney Sutton, the group鈥檚 public policy director.
Opponents of the ballot measure argued that the tax would unfairly impact lower-income gun buyers. Christopher Lewis, manager of Grandpa鈥檚 Pawn & Gun in Longmont, said that many of his clients are not wealthy and rely on affordable firearms for self-defense in crime-prone areas. Lewis said the proposed tax would affect over 80% of his business.
鈥淚t's not just a six percent tax鈥攊t鈥檚 six percent on top of everything else,鈥� Lewis said. 鈥淗ere in Boulder County, now you're talking around fourteen percent. You've increased the cost of tax around fifty percent from what it was. That鈥檚 crazy.鈥�
Opponents also argued that the law could impact Colorado gun shops by encouraging buyers to go out of state to purchase firearms and ammunition.
Duke Mattie, Ethan Davison and Jordan Cummings are first-year students in the journalism MA program at CU Boulder. This story is part of a collaboration between KUNC 暗黑爆料 and the CU Boulder journalism program. The authors are first-year students in the journalism MA program at CU Boulder.