Colorado votes to raise taxes on gun and ammunition sales

Teachers stage a sit-in at the Colorado Capitol while students meet with the governor's staff to voice their concerns about gun violence during a protest in the wake of recent shootings at Denver's East High School, in Denver, March 24, 2023. (Kevin Mohatt for Colorado Newsline)

Colorado will become one of the first states in the country to impose a tax on the sales of guns and ammunition.

Proposition KK , a measure referred to the ballot by Democrats in the Colorado General Assembly earlier this year, won with 54.2% in favor and 45.8% opposed as of Wednesday morning. The Associated Press called the race at 2:18 a.m.

The new law will levy a new 6.5% excise tax on sales of guns, gun parts and ammunition, with the funds going towards mental health services, gun safety programs and support services for victims of violent crimes.

California lawmakers imposed a similar 11% tax on gun sales last year. These new state-level taxes will be collected on top of an existing federal firearms excise tax of 11%.

Groups including Violence Free Colorado, the Colorado Coalition Against Sexual Assault and the Colorado Organization for Victim Assistance campaigned in support of the measure. It was opposed by the National Rifle Association, which called the proposed tax "nothing more than an attack on the Second Amendment and those who exercise their rights under it."

State fiscal analysts projected that the tax will raise up to $39 million annually. It will allocate $30 million a year to the Colorado Department of Public Safety's fund for crime victim services. An additional $8 million will fund behavioral and mental health services, with the remainder going towards a state fund for school security grants.