Remind politicians: it's not your money, you didn't earn it. An update to Arapahoe County's "Harm Reduction Van". Give Weiser a chance to sue and guess what he'll likely do?
Remind those running the state, and remind yourself: it's not the government's money, they didn't earn it. It is your money.
And
When they take more of your money, no matter how sympathetic or just they think their cause is, it leaves you with less to spend on your family.
SB24 - 181 (linked below) is up for its first committee hearing on Tuesday 4/9.
This is a bill I've written about before (see the second link): it creates yet another TABOR-workaround enterprise, another unelected board taking your money and then spending it.
And, as if that weren't enough, the bill has language to make sure that this enterprise is exempt from the requirements of Proposition 117 (see the third link). That is the initiative where we voters put in financial limits on the size of enterprises.
I hope to testify against this bill and give the sponsors and committee my unvarnished thoughts on this effort. As part of that, I wrote and sent an open email which I hope to read out loud to the committee.
If you are concerned about this too, I urge you to sign up and join me in providing your thoughts on the government taking yet more of your money and giving to unelected boards on top of specifically thumbing their nose at your wishes.
My email is below the links.
https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/sb24-181
https://pagetwo.completecolorado.com/2024/03/16/gaines-arrogance-colorado-one-party-rule/
https://ballotpedia.org/Colorado_Proposition_117,_Require_Voter_Approval_of_Certain_New_Enterprises_Exempt_from_TABOR_Initiative_(2020)
An open email to the sponsors of SB24-181 Alcohol Impact & Recovery Enterprise
Hello to all,
My name is Cory Gaines. I am a lifelong resident of Colorado.
I am writing today in opposition to SB24-181. I hope to testify against this bill as well during the hearing, but wanted to write in case my teaching schedule doesn't allow it.
I am in opposition to this bill not because of what it wants to do, but the way in which it does it.
There are two things I would like to remind everyone reading this email about. The first is Coloradans' repeated affirmation and support of our rights under TABOR. Chief among these rights is the fact that we citizens need to be asked whether or not we want to give you more of our money prior to you taking it.
Let me repeat that because I think it is all too often the case that legislators under the gold dome forget: this is our money, it is not yours. You didn't work to earn it, and when you take from me, no matter how sympathetic you think your cause is, I have less for my family (a group I am most definitely sympathetic to).
I would also like to remind everyone of the passage of Prop 117 not more than 4 short years ago. With the passage of that initiative, citizens across this state said that they wanted definite limits on the size of enterprises.
And here we are, again not more than 4 years past that vote, and you are already trying to sneak past the stated wishes of voters. Again.
I don't know how voters could have been clearer, and yet the sponsors of this measure blithely ignore it. Just as many of you have done with TABOR, we now have these four legislators plainly telling voters that they know better.
Your yes vote on this measure will clearly indicate your beliefs to voters.
It will clearly show that you feel that it's your money, to do with as you wish without our consent.
It will clearly show that you feel as though you don't need to heed what those who supposedly are calling the shots think best.
Vote no and say to voters that they and their wishes are what should be driving policy.
Cory
Update to Arapahoe County's "Harm Reduction Van"
I posted not too long back (see the previous newsletter linked below) about the questions I had over Arapahoe County's "Harm Reduction" van.
It took some doing, but multiple phone calls and emails later**, I have answers to the questions I asked so I wanted to update.
I asked the public information officer for the health dept over in Arapahoe County about three things. I wanted to know what specific services the van offered, what the boundaries on what they'll allow in the van are (and how this is enforced), and my last question was a suggested by a reader based on things this reader had heard about a similar van in JeffCo.
The questions and answers from them are copied below without alteration.
Question – Comprehensive service list
The following services are offered in the Prevention Point harm reduction mobile unit:
Syringe services, including:
Sterile injection supplies, including syringes and other safer use supplies like sterile water, wound care kits, alcohol wipes, bandages, foil, etc. While we do distribute stem covers (small mouth guards for glassware), we do not distribute glassware itself. Disposal of used syringes and distribution of sharps disposal containers
Sexual health services, including: STI testing (HIV, Hepatitis C, Syphilis, Chlamydia and Gonorrhea), Sexual health counseling, and Referrals to STI treatment
Overdose prevention education, including signs and symptoms of an overdose, how to reverse an overdose and how to properly use naloxone (often called Narcan). We also distribute naloxone, fentanyl test strips and xylazine test strips.
Information, resources and referrals to community programs, mental health and substance use treatment providers, Medicaid/SNAP application assistance and more.
Question – What are the boundaries/can people use on site/how is this enforced?
Prevention Point is a harm reduction outreach vehicle, not a supervised substance use site. The clients we see in the mobile unit are not permitted to use substances on the mobile unit, and this is strictly enforced by staff. The team always works in pairs to ensure staff safety and high levels of customer service, and this also allows the team to be able to watch for and stop any potential use. While the Prevention Point harm reduction mobile unit is new, Arapahoe County Public Health’s predecessor, Tri-County Health Department, also had a harm reduction mobile outreach unit that had some staff members in common with Prevention Point. Those staff members have said that in their entire time of doing mobile harm reduction outreach, they have never had a participant try to use substances while working with the outreach vehicle.
In addition, in Arapahoe County Public Health staff’s experience, program participants are grateful for the services being provided and are very willing to work within whatever parameters necessary and are very respectful of the rules and boundaries of the harm reduction team.
Question – How do you address syringe/other waste disposal by participants on site?
The Arapahoe County Public Health harm reduction team is fully trained in safe syringe disposal and cleanup. While program participants discarding syringes and other supplies around the vehicle hasn’t been an issue, our staff takes great pride and responsibility in being good partners with the community organizations we are co-locating with and being good community members. We work to be good stewards and leave places clean and in good repair.
**I could not for the life of me get an email or phone call returned by these folks, so I finally resorted to signing up to testify remotely during an Arapahoe County Commissioners meeting to tell them about my problems. This has been a highly effective strategy for me in the past to get answers. I highly recommend it. You needn't be a jerk. Just ask them whether or not answering the public's questions is important to them when your turn comes up.
https://open.substack.com/pub/coloradoaccountabilityproject/p/this-project-is-only-possible-with?r=15ij6n&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
When you allow a devout gun control advocate like our Attorney General Phil Weiser the ability to sue gun manufacturers for the actions of criminals he's probably going to get around to suing.
The article linked first below is about a letter sent to the gun manufacturer Glock, a letter our AG was signatory on, asking them to keep 37 years' worth of files.
Why? Well, first we need to back up a bit. Chicago is suing Glock because of a quirk in their handguns' design. It turns out that a DIY modification to the gun can be done to enable it to become an automatic handgun. That is, one trigger pull can deliver bullets automatically until the magazine is empty.
This modification is illegal. Owning a modified gun is illegal. Using it for violence is illegal. Nonetheless, Chicago alleges that by not changing the design of the handgun to prevent THIS PARTICULAR modification Glock is civilly liable.
Guess which state also has a law like that? Colorado. Guess which state has it in their law that the Attorney General of said state can sue gun manufacturers? Colorado.
I linked to that bill second below and attached the relevant language from the bill as a screenshot.
Now, one more: guess which state has an attorney general that is a gun control afficianado and has signed on to a letter telling Glock to retain their records on this gun (a preliminary step in suing)? Colorado.
In other words, we can probably expect that if the Chicago case proceeds as Chicago would like, Phil Weiser will be joining and/or moving to sue on his own.
If he does, it's not going to be a surprise. This is exactly what opponents of the bill predicted would happen. Phil Weiser has made no secret of his support for gun control.
And I think we should recognize that this is what efforts like these are, at least in part. They are gun policy done through the courts.
https://www.thecentersquare.com/colorado/article_8a77d080-ec70-11ee-a49e-1f64546d9fdc.html
https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/sb23-168
.
Related:
Per the article linked below, with Sen Dylan Roberts' acquiescence (after some minor changes including striking some "sensitive spaces" off the list as well as then adding in the state capitol), the concealed-carry bill has now advanced out of committee.
If you are in Senator Robert's district (or if you're not) join me in taking a minute from your day to call or write a quick email and tell him (civilly) he should have stood stronger to defend your Second Amendment rights as well as your ability to defend yourself. His vote allowed this bill to make it to the floor.
And, if you are in his district, remember this vote for the future.
Sen Robert's email and capitol phone are below.
303-866-4871
dylan.roberts.senate@coleg.gov
https://www.coloradopolitics.com/news/modified-colorado-bill-bans-firearms-in-state-capitol/article_0ae7a5da-ec79-11ee-a3c3-3b9a0664b7f7.html#google_vignette