With election season in full swing, last week I looked at one of the biggest issues facing Colorado voters: Proposition 131. The bottom line? It's a difficult decision, and many readers agree.

But 131 is hardly the only contentious or complex issue on this year's ballot. So this week we're turning our attention to three other big Colorado topics: hunting, guns and schools.

Hunting Colorado's Big Cats

Proposition 127 feels complicated, but it isn't. It simply depends on whether you believe that the main reason hunters pay more than tens of thousands of dollars to specialized dog outfitters to kill Colorado's big cats is just for the meat.

Based on common sense, I find this claim to be completely absurd. But even if mountain lion meat is a delicacy, as some anti-127 advocates claim, paying outfitters extraordinary fees to obtain such meat, in addition to searching for animal pelts, is still by definition a trophy hunt. That's why I support 127 to end trophy hunting of Colorado's big cats.

If you're not convinced, it's worth addressing some common claims made by opponents of the measure. First, they claim that hunters regulate lion populations, even though there is ample evidence that big cats regulate themselves. They claim that “ballot box biology” is unfair, an argument that not only implies that voters' values ​​don't matter, but that is also somehow lost on many of those same voters when it comes to a woman's biology – a contradiction in terms highest order.

Then there are claims of economic loss, even though it's just a drop in the bucket of Colorado's overall economy. Plus, highlighting how much money Colorado hunting organizations make to lure hunters from other states to kill big cats screams trophy hunting, not “I'm based here to protect wildlife.”

Long story short: I support Proposition 127 and hope you will too.

Gun taxes

The KK proposal is about taxes, but also about values: Should gun owners be required to contribute in the form of gun purchase taxes to help victims of gun violence and improve public safety surrounding shootings?

The answer is fundamentally and clearly: yes. Securing funds for gun victims and their safety is another tool in our toolkit to reduce the impact of gun violence, an issue that is a top priority for many Colorado voters due to persistently high rates. And who better to help pay a little more for these public services than those who insist on owning lethal weapons in the first place? I certainly can't think of anyone. Can you?

School funding

Amendment 80 is sneaky. At first glance, it seems like an easy and happy choice for parents. That's not it.

Coloradans are already guaranteed a free public education, and Amendment 80 is a sneaky attempt to deceive voters into redirecting tax dollars from public schools to private schools, including religious institutions.

There are already several examples of religious charter schools in the state, as well as schools that refuse to meet basic academic and educational criteria in accordance with state guidelines. There are also already legal questions about the initiative. So do voters really think mandating tax dollars for private schools is a good idea? I certainly hope so.

This means that even those who support school choice must absolutely vote no to Amendment 80 to prevent misuse of public tax dollars. This is particularly true when it comes to preventing public money from flowing into private religious schools that are subject to weak oversight.

Trish Zornio is a scientist, lecturer and author who has worked at some of the country's top universities and hospitals. She is an avid climber and ran for U.S. Senate in Colorado in 2020. Trish can be found on Twitter @trish_zornio

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