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10 16 24 Violence Free Colorado's Roshan Kalantar with support for Proposition KK
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If approved by voters, Proposition KK would impose a 6.5% excise on gun and ammo purchases in the state, which advocates say would be used to fund support services for crime victims. But opponents say the measure is a direct attack on gun rights, which targets firearm owners for exercising their Second Amendment liberties. And yesterday we did speak with the no-vote side of things, but joining us now in the Gateway Common Spirit Health Hotline in support of Measure KK, it's Roshan Kalantar. Roshan, I appreciate you coming on with us this morning. First off, why do you feel this is an effective way to fund your causes? Yeah, thanks for having me. Good morning, everyone. Yeah, it's great to be here. I think it's critical that folks know that the agencies that are be funded by this, by Prop KK, are in critical need of a new funding source. We've been relying on federal funding for too long. That money has been cut by over 75% in the last five years. And there's really no end in sight to the federal cuts, and there's no way that the Colorado budget can absorb those costs. So we need another solution, and this is a great way for Colorado to support the mental health of veterans of youth and the victims of crime. We spoke with Rock Mountain Gun owners yesterday. They claimed that Proposition KK was pushed by the gun violence prevention caucus in the House and Senate, and that the $35 million that is lacking was purposely left out of the budget. What is your overall opinion and take on that? Was it something that was cut, or was it something that could have been in there if they did have the money, or did have the resources to do so? Yeah, unfortunately, that's just not true. The entire Colorado budget last year, we had about $39 million that we were dividing up between a very -- a high number of significantly important causes, and yeah, there wasn't $39 million in the budget to give us, even if they'd given it all to us, which is just not possible. So the truth is, this is federal funding that's been cut over the -- again, over the last five years, and Colorado just doesn't have it in the budget. We actually got a lot of support from Democrats and Republicans across the aisle in the last five years as we've come back looking for solutions over and over again. It's just not the money in the state budget. We have to look elsewhere. This is absolutely about supporting victims of crime. It's about supporting our veterans and our young adults as they face mental health crises and about school safety. These are critical services in the state of Colorado. They are overwhelmingly supported by people across both aisle. It's just -- it's simply about doing the right thing to the people who need it the most. Roshan, I think most gun owners would say that they agree that there needs to be funding for these initiatives. That's how they think coming after law-abiding gun owners and using this mechanism is not the right way. It infringes upon what they say are people that are responsible gun owners and decent folk, but you're extracting this off their backs to fund this. What's your reaction to that? Yeah. It's a good question, and I want to say a couple things about it. So one is to be really clear that this is an excise tax, which is different than a sales tax. So this is not a tax that would be levied on those who purchase guns, but on those who sell guns. So it is a distinction. It's an important one economically, and it's important for those who are interested in buying guns and ammunition. It's critical that folks, no prop KK doesn't offer any barriers. If you can buy a gun legally today in Colorado, once prop KK passes, you can continue to do so. There's no barriers to owning a gun or to purchasing ammunition based on prop KK. All this will do is levy an excise tax, which is a very old -- actually has been taxing guns in the United States since the 19th century, and the means -- and it is a clear means to support these services. Now I want to be honest, too, that there's a nexus between guns and violent crime. There's a nexus between suicide rates and use and veterans and guns, and it's important that we talk about the ways that we can make these connections and support folks who are the most vulnerable. There's -- some folks will talk about what a good gun owner is or a bad gun gun or who we're penalizing. That's not what this is about. It's about raising money for those who need help, and so who's a good gun owner? I think a veteran is probably the best gun owner we could have, right? Those are the folks that we trust and armed to protect us, and then they come home and guns are the most likely way that they will die by suicide when they are in crisis, and so we want to make sure that they have the support they need. For Sean, going back a little bit with the excise tax, is there any concerns that small gun businesses could go out of business if they can't foot this bill, or could they actually pass that excise tax onto the consumer if they had to? You know, that's such a great question. I appreciate you asking it. We've actually got some protections built in to prop KK to make sure that that doesn't happen. So retailers who sell less than $20,000 a month will not be subject to the excise tax. We are protecting small businesses. There's also protections for law enforcement, and folks who need guns for their work. >> Rochand, any concern about pushback from the courts, a mini on the Second Amendment side saying, "Hey, we'll see you in court with this, that this is something that's unconstitutional." Have you thought about those repercussions, or are you aware, or have a knowledge base that you feel confident this will pass without having to go to a court? >> Yeah, no, we're very confident. Again, an excise tax on, we have the excise taxes on many items right now, both federal and state, and there's nothing, yeah, we've been careful in preparing the law. It is, there's currently a similar law in California. Yeah, we're confident that we are within the right, you know, that we're doing it the right way. We took our time. We were careful. We went through the legislature. You know, we've made sure that this is a proposition that's going to stand because we know how valuable these dollars are, and we wouldn't risk it. >> Real quick in wrapping up with you in regards to those dollars, if approved, is there specifics on how the money will exactly be used, or will that be decided once it's approved? >> Yeah, I know, this is also a really important piece. The mechanisms for how the dollars will go out are already in place in our state government. So these dollars will go into buckets that are already in place, grants and state offices that are already supporting victims of violent crime, already supporting survivors, already supporting veterans and already supporting youth, and the office of school safety. So these offices are in place and ready to receive the dollars. We're confident that they'll go to the right place and that they'll go across Colorado. >> And Rochelle, just a quick follow-up to that. I know you talk about this tax is placed on gun shops, but then that's often passed on to the consumer. You understand that to where they'll sell and do that. >> Yeah, it can be, and again, it's part of a long history in the United States of raising money to support processes that we value in this way. This is what our taxes do, and so it's a modest tax, but we know about excise taxes that they can be passed on, but economically, the purchaser feels that much less than they would in excise a sales tax. So we feel confident that buyers will have the access that they need and that victims will get the services that they need. >> On the opposition side of Proposition KK on the November 5th ballot, it's violence-free Colorado's Roshan calendar. >> There's only one feeling like knowing your banker personally, like growing up with the bank you can count on, like being sure what you've earned is safe, secure, and local. There's only one feeling like knowing you're supporting your community. You deserve more from a bank. You deserve an institution that stood strong for generations. Bank of Colorado, there's only one. Your FDIC., it's beginning to sound a lot like the holidays. The Roku Channel, your home for free and premium TV, is giving you access to holiday music and genre-based stations from iHeart all for free. Find the soundtrack of the season with channels like iHeartChristmas and North Pole Radio. The Roku Channel is available on all Roku devices, web, Amazon Fire TV, Google TV, Samsung TVs, and the Roku mobile app on iOS and Android devices. So stream what you love and turn up the cheer with iHeartRadio on the Roku Channel. Happy streaming!