DENVER — This November, Coloradans have several decisions to make, ranging from the next president of the United States to hyperlocal issues.
One of those issues is Proposition KK, which asks voters if they support or oppose raising state taxes by $39 million annually to fund mental health services for certain groups of people, including veterans, at-risk youth, and domestic violence survivors.
A 6.5% excise tax would be placed on gun manufacturers, gun retail stores, and ammunition vendors. The businesses would decide how they wanted to pay the tax, meaning they could either absorb it and pay it themselves or pass it along to the consumer.
Cooper Dayton was an outspoken advocate for gun violence prevention long before he was shot.
“It was June 25, 2022," Dayton said. “I was walking home from an Avs Stanley Cup game. I believe it was Game Five.”
Dayton was walking alongside the Colorado State Capitol when he was mugged by a group of men near the intersection of Grant Street and Colfax Avenue. He was shot through the chest.
“Hitting the ground is where I really came to, and you have that shock that hits you," Dayton recalled. “Luckily, Denver Health is two minutes away. They said if I had had to go out to Aurora or another hospital, 20 minutes was all I had before, you know, I would have been done.”
Dayton spent around five days in the hospital.
"I had chest tubes. I had ventilators. I was put under for two surgeries... They didn't realize where the bleeding was coming from at the time, so they just opened me up and stuffed me with gauze," Dayton said. “Luckily, because of modern medicine, I survived.”
Dayton remembers being on the gurney and deciding he would survive. Once released from the hospital, he started working on his mental health.
“I feel like it motivated me to put my mental health first and really prioritize that, prioritize advocacy and making a difference in my community," Dayton said. “I'll be voting yes on Prop KK. The estimated revenues are going to be around $39 million. Again, $30 million towards victim crime services. That's truly saving people's lives.”
Colorado House Majority Leader Monica Duran, D — Jefferson County, is also a staunch supporter of Proposition KK.
“I think the bottom line here is that when we stop to think of the one thing that crime victims — youth, suicide, veterans, mental health — have in common is gun violence," Duran said. “And that's what this is really about is how can we make sure that we continue the services that are needed, the support services, whether that be counseling, therapy, housing, whatever it might be.”
Duran, who is a domestic violence survivor, deeply understands the support needed after experiencing such a traumatic event. She said those resources are needed for a lifetime.
“The money goes to, what I call, three buckets. It's $39 million. $30 million goes to our existing Crime Victims Fund, which we already have a system in place, and you have to apply for those funds. $5 million goes to veterans' mental health because we know the impact that veterans have faced, whether they're in war, whatever it might be. And then $3 million goes to at-risk youth. We know the rise in teen suicide is so high, we know we need to expand the services of mental health across the board. And then $1 million goes to a school safety program that's already existing, that we already have," Duran explained.
According to Duran, different organizations would apply for the funding.
Duran said legislators considered other options to find the funding.
"Don't get me wrong, this wasn't just like, 'Oh yeah, let's just, let's just pick this.' We thought about alcohol, we thought about tobacco, we thought about marijuana, and [we] realized that those have already been taxed, right?” Duran said. “This by no way shape or form is in any way an attack on a Second Amendment right whatsoever. This just says we need to take care of our community, and this would give us the ability to make sure that we keep those doors open... This is a community issue, it is a human issue. So let's look at it that way and not look at it like a gun issue.”
Ian Escalante, executive director of Rocky Mountain Gun Owners, disagrees with Duran. The group fights against gun control coming out of the Colorado State Capitol and supports legislation that expands gun rights in the state.
“To tax guns and ammo would be no different than putting a tax on newspapers or putting a tax on the right to assemble," Escalante said. “It's an assault on our God-given rights. It's an assault on our sacred right to self-defense.”
Escalante believes the tax would be passed along to consumers.
“The justice system should be punishing crime. Instead of punishing crime, they're just going to go ahead and punish consumers. They're going to punish people who are trying to defend themselves," Escalante said. “And now we have all these people that would want to be able to defend themselves but aren't going to now because they simply can't afford it.”
According to Escalante, the issue at the heart of Proposition KK is a violent crime problem, not a gun problem.
“We should be locking up these individuals who are committing these violent crimes. Instead, you have people who have a rap sheet of car theft, drug possession, drug use, along with breaking and entering and theft from gun shops, and those people are being let out after seven months on a PR bond," Escalante said. “It's actually kind of disgusting what they're doing and saying, 'Oh, if you don't support taxing your right to self-defense, with crime skyrocketing, with gang activity going on all across Denver, all across the state, and even we're seeing across the country,' they're saying, 'We're going to go ahead and jack this tax up, and if you vote against it, then you hate women and you hate these domestic violence shelters.'"
Proposition KK will appear on the ballot as follows:
SHALL STATE TAXES BE INCREASED BY $39,000,000 ANNUALLY TO FUND MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES, INCLUDING FOR MILITARY VETERANS AND AT-RISK YOUTH, SCHOOL SAFETY AND GUN VIOLENCE PREVENTION, AND SUPPORT SERVICES FOR VICTIMS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND OTHER VIOLENT CRIMES BY AUTHORIZING A TAX ON GUN DEALERS, GUN MANUFACTURERS, AND AMMUNITION VENDORS AT THE RATE OF 6.5% OF THE NET TAXABLE SALES FROM THE RETAIL SALE OF ANY GUN, GUN PRECURSOR PART, OR AMMUNITION, WITH THE STATE KEEPING AND SPENDING ALL OF THE NEW TAX REVENUE AS A VOTER-APPROVED REVENUE CHANGE?
Coloradans can register to vote online or by mail until Oct. 28. After that date, in-person registration at a voting location is the only option. In-person registration can be completed as late as Election Day.
Ballots will be mailed out beginning Oct. 11, and Election Day is November 5. For more information, visit the Colorado Secretary of State's Office website.
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