Please vote against misleading ballot measures: Amendments 81, 82, 85, 86, and Propositions 132 and 136, backed by dark money group Advance Colorado (learn more at whoisadvancecolorado.org); Props 133, 134, and 135, pushed by Protect Kids Colorado (Christian Nationalist aligned).
It’s ironic that millions of Americans’ addiction was a get-rich scheme by the very wealthy Sackler family. Proposition 132 is a related money-making scheme — it fills private prisons with our family members. How? By requiring judges to apply the same sentence for one pill as a drug cartel trafficker gets (8-32 years in prison) when what a user needs is treatment. Incarceration is very profitable — except for individuals, families, and communities.
The mass-texted lie is that Prop 132 will increase treatment. But it doesn’t fund treatment — it actually reduces treatment by diverting funds to incarceration.
The same prison-profit objective lies behind Proposition 133, opposed by many organizations dedicated to protecting and serving victims of trafficking. The Colorado Coalition Against Sexual Assault says “Rather than stopping child sex trafficking, Prop 133 hurts trafficking victims, treats them the same as perpetrators, and gives traffickers a tool to further exploit them.” Prop 134 subjects our girls to potential physical gender examinations before they can compete in sports. Prop 135 would strip parents (and providers) of decisions involving care of their children — more prison profit.
Vote Yes for Amendment 87 to tax the wealthy and NN to fund our schools (we’re 43rd in the nation). No on all the rest.
Karen Pontius
Durango, CO