Home » CO Ceasefire News: Yes on KK; Thank You to Duran, Froelich

CO Ceasefire News: Yes on KK; Thank You to Duran, Froelich

Prop. KK Gets Rolling: Tell Your Friends!

The push is on to spread awareness of and get out the vote for Proposition KK, an excise tax on firearms, firearm parts and ammunition to support mental health for veterans, youth and victims of domestic violence and violent crimes. The public is invited to a press event Thursday, Sept. 12, at the State Capitol (details above).

The federal Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) funding stream has been cut in half since 2018, limiting victims’ access to support and leaving victim service providers working beyond their means while the needs of victims have grown. VOCA is the largest source of funding for Colorado’s victim services infrastructure, supporting more than 200 organizations, serving thousands of victims across the state and comprising the majority of community-based programs’ budgets.

Meanwhile, the need for these services continues to build:

Domestic violence (DV), sexual violence and stalking cases have become more fatal: When a gun is available, women are five times more likely to be killed by an intimate partner. In Colorado, 86% of DV-related deaths involved firearms.
Colorado has the 10th highest rate of gun suicides in the US: one every 13 hours.
According to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Education, suicide is the leading cause of death among youth and young adults (ages 10-24). Black children and teens are five times more likely than their white peers to die by guns.
The veteran suicide rate in our state is significantly higher than both the national average and the national general population suicide rate, according to US Dept. of Veterans Affairs.
Individuals exposed to trauma, including military veterans and at-risk youth, need support accessing mental health care.

Colorado Ceasefire worked with allies in the Domestic Violence and Victim Advocacy communities to help place this measure on this fall’s ballot, and has pledged our help as they continue the work to get it passed. Please consider supporting Proposition KK and help spread the word about this vital opportunity to improve the mental health of all Coloradans.

Ceasefire Says Thank You to Key Legislative Allies

Colorado Ceasefire thanked Colorado House Majority leader Monica Duran (D-23) and Rep. Meg Froelich (D-3) Monday, Sept 9 for their tireless efforts in Colorado’s fight for gun violence prevention. The two were presented with awards for their work, particularly in this year’s record-breaking legislative session, when eight measures were passed to help keep Coloradans safe where they live, work and play. Both vowed to continue the fight in the upcoming session, which begins in January. Thank you again to both of these amazing leaders!

(Pictured, L-R: Lydia Waligorsky, Anne McGihon; Rep. Duran; Rep. Froelich; Eileen McCarron; Carl Hamm)

Johns Hopkins Study: Handgun Purchaser
Licensing Reduces Firearm Injuries

Previous research has shown that handgun purchaser licensing (HPL) laws–which mandate individuals to obtain a license from law enforcement before buying a firearm–reduce various forms of fatal firearm violence, including homicides, suicides and mass shootings. Now researchers at Johns Hopkins University have found that such laws also reduce non-fatal firearm injury rates.

Outcomes on firearm injury hospitalizations were examined following a full repeal of an HPL law in Missouri (2007), a partial repeal in Michigan (2012) and an adoption of HPL law in Maryland (2013). Maryland’s adoption of the law was associated with a 32.3% reduction in firearm-related injury hospitalization; Missouri’s repeal was associated with a 35.7% increase in FIH rates; and Michigan’s partial repeal showed no statistically significant associations.

Firearm Suicide Prevention Day: Keep Spreading the Message!

September is Suicide Prevention Month, and though National Firearm Suicide Prevention Day was Tuesday, Jan. 10, the message saves lives every day. Gun owners who hear about the importance of safe storage are four times more likely to explore safe storage options than gun owners who do not.
On average, 74 Americans die by firearm suicide every single day — more than are lost to firearm homicide and unintentional shootings combined. More than half of all gun deaths are suicides, and research shows this outsized epidemic is partly fueled by unsecured firearms. Firearm suicide is a part of family fire, or a shooting that results from someone misusing an unsecured firearm from the home.

Guns to Gardens Surrender Event in Montview Oct. 19

On Saturday, October 19 Montview Boulevard Presbyterian Church and Temple Micah will co-host a Guns to Gardens safe-surrender event in Montview’s parking lot from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm. The goal is to collect 75 weapons (or more), pushing the number destroyed in Metro Denver to more than 500.

All firearms are surrendered voluntarily and anonymously, and trained volunteers destroy them on site with chop saws. Each person who surrenders a firearm will receive a grocery store gift card as a thank you; donations are gratefully accepted to pay for the gift cards.
Since early 2023 Guns to Gardens Metro Denver has destroyed 484 firearms at its safe-surrender events, and it converts many pieces into garden tools and artwork.

Register to Vote!

It’s time to make sure you are properly registered and ready to vote this November!

If you are receiving this newsletter, you probably already know what a critical time this is for gun violence prevention legislation at the federal, state and local levels. As we have seen from recent Supreme Court decisions, your vote for candidates who support common-sense gun laws—and spreading the word among people you know—is more important now than ever. Register to vote here.

We hope you find this newsletter valuable. The Gun Violence Prevention movement in Colorado is growing, but we still face major challenges–both from the gun lobby and in simply spreading awareness of the common-sense positions we work for. If you are interested in the news you see here and want to get involved, please consider volunteering! And if you want Colorado Ceasefire to continue acting as a voice and resource for Gun Violence Prevention in our state, we hope you’ll consider supporting us.

And feel free to subscribe and pass this news along to anyone else you think may be interested, either as a link or by cutting and pasting into your own newsletter (please take out the ‘unsubscribe’ message at the bottom first)–this is how the movement grows. And remember, when we fight, we win!