Colorado Faith Communities United to End Gun Violence wishes you many blessings during this holy and holiday season!

We are very grateful for all our members and for the work that you do to end gun violence throughout the year.

In this issue of the digest:

• Annual CFCU Vigil to Remember All Victims and Survivors of Gun Violence on December 6 - Find Out How You Can Participate

• Donate to CFCU through Colorado Gives

• CFCU General Meeting features speaker Jonathan McMillan on November 5.

• Jonathan McMillan Answers Our Questions

• Public Health Round Table Report on Gun Violence in Colorado

• The Rahimi Case in a Nutshell

• From the Advocacy Team

• ERPO Presentation at First Plymouth by Eileen McCarron

• Urgent Action Needed to Support the ATF Ruling

• CFCU Calendar for December and beyond

CFCU Participates in Vigil to Honor All Victims of Gun Violence on December 6

Find a location near you below:

Downtown Denver  Meet at Central Presbyterian - 1660 Sherman St., Denver 80203 Wed. Dec. 6. 5:15 pm at Central Presbyterian Candlelight Procession to First Baptist Church. Arrive at First Baptist at 5:45 p.m. for indoor service Bring light sources – battery candles, flashlights, cell phones Contact: Cheryl Fleetwood: 303-877-0211 cherylrfleetwood@gmail.com Participating Congregations: Central Presbyterian, First Baptist, First Mennonite Church, Our Savior’s Lutheran Church, St. Andrew’s Episcopal

Southeast Denver

Meet at First Plymouth UCC – 3501 S. Colorado Blvd. Cherry Hills Village, CO 801113

Wed. Dec. 6: 4:15 pm Prayer and Reflection inside 4:30 – 5:30 Vigil on 4 corners with signs. Parking in lot south of the church. Bring light sources

Contact: Susan Oakes: 720-447-1981 soakes1219@gmail.com

Participating Congregations: First Plymouth UCC, First Universalist, Most Precious Blood Parish, Calvary Baptist, Epiphany Lutheran, Kirk of Bonnie Brae UCC, Washington Park UCC.

Hill Top Meet at B’nai Havurah, 6445 East Ohio Ave. . Wed. Dec. 6: 5 p.m. Remarks and then moving to the southwest corner of Leetsdale and Monaco to display signs 6 p.m. Warm-up and light refreshments. Contact: Alana Smart: 303-807-1173 alanaks@aol.com Participating Congregations: B’nai Havurah and Congregation Rodef Shalom

Boulder We We Main branch of Boulder Public Library (1001 Arapahoe Ave.) Dec. 6th and Dec. 14th, 11 AM- 1 PM. We will be distributing safe storage, ERPO, suicide prevention, emergency hotline, and other information. For information contact Stephanie Greenberg: researchswgreenberg@gmail.com Participating Congregations: Boulder Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, Community UCC, Congregation Bonai Shalom, Congregation Har HaShem, First Congregational UCC, St. Ambrose Episcopal, St. John's Episcopal

Arvada Meet at Arvada United Methodist Church, 6750 Carr St, Arvada, CO 80004. Meet in the parking lot at 12 noon, Prayer at 12:15 We will pray the Unison Prayer. Ending around 12:45 p.m. Contact: Sue Tourjee susan.tourjee@gmail.com Participating Congregations: Arvada United Methodist Church, Living Light of Peace

ColoradoGives Day:Donate to CFCU

Help us end gun violence through advocacy, public health strategies, education, awareness and prayer! Your donation will help us expand our work.

CFCU General Meeting on November 5 features speaker Jonathan McMillan

Mr. McMillan encouraged us to use the resources on the Let's Talk Guns, Colorado website. “We have the power to change one person’s experience and exponentially the world.” He suggested that we need to understand the nuances of attitudes about guns, including a rural desire to own guns for protection, and youth who are afraid of being harmed by guns. We need to be aware of how education and upward mobility influences attitudes about guns. We need to be caring trustworthy people in the life of veterans, seniors, those who maybe in abusive relationships. This is all part of a comprehensive public health approach to guns.

We ended with a song, shared by Steering Committee member David Livingston. You can watch a video of that song by Carrie Newcomer here: If Not Now

Jonathan McMillan Answers CFCU Members’ Questions

 Following his presentation, Director McMillan answered questions posed by Susie Pappas (Montview Presbyterian) and developed by the ERPO Public Education work group within the Public Health Strategies Action team that she convenes.  Creating an ERPO public education campaign was a major mandate of OGVP when it was created by the Legislature.  Since there wasn’t enough time for him to answer questions from the floor, Jonathan graciously agreed to respond to written questions.

Below is a list of questions. You can read all the answers and more from Mr. McMillan here: Jonathan McMilan Answers CFCU Questions

• How is ERPO training being provided to educators? Is it now part of a required in-service (like child abuse reporting education done yearly?. Carolyn Ewald, Lakewood UCC 

• Such an ambitious agenda. Are you considering forming an Advisory Commission to share responsibility (with members representing various regions of the state?) Marie Schaffner, Friend of CFCU 

• What metrics are you using to measure the effectiveness of OGVP-qualitative? Quantitative? Gene Drumm, Friend of CFCU

• What is the schedule for the next round of grants?  Will gun safes, trigger locks and *gift cards be allowable expenses? Ann Noonan, Longmont UCC 

• You shared your concern that our Protect Children, Not Guns sign could be polarizing, when OGVP is trying to engage a wide range of constituencies in the gun safety effort.  Do you have any examples of brief messages we should consider for our signage that would resonate with what Let’s Talk Guns Colorado is trying to accomplish? Rita Niblack, Most Precious Blood Catholic Church 

• Colorado Public Health Roundtable on Firearm-Related Violence Prevention. 

• Let’s Talk Guns, Colorado Campaign website.

• LTGC Communications Toolkit

Preview of New Report from Colorado Public Health Roundtable on Firearm-Related Violence Prevention

Alana Smart, CFCU Co-Chair and convener of the Public Health Strategies Action Team previewed the new report from the Colorado Public Health Roundtable on Firearm-Related Violence Prevention that was just released by the office of Gun Violence Prevention (Colorado Dept. of Health and Environment) and Trailhead Institute.  Over the course of two days, nearly 100 community leaders, researchers, and public health professionals gathered from across the state to build an apolitical framework and create a shared definition of what a public health approach to firearm-related violence prevention is.

Dr. Michael Earnest (St. Thomas Episcopal) and Alana participated in planning for this historic conference which Alana was able to attend.  Mike strongly endorsed the work of the Roundtable and importance of taking a comprehensive public health approach to the gun violence epidemic.  Alana highlighted the many ways that CFCU has attempted to utilize public health strategies and how helpful it will be to have a framework developed collaboratively with public health professionals and community leaders. CFCU plans to feature the report at a general meeting in 2024 and engage our action teams in identifying how we can support its findings and recommendations.

Read the summary and full report at:

https://trailhead.institute/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Trailhead-Institute-Wellstone-Collaborative-Strategies-Colorados-Public-Health-Roundtable-on-Firearm-Related-Violence-Prevention-Report-October-2023-Final.pdf

The Rahimi Case in a Nutshell

In what will be the major firearm case heard by the U.S. Supreme Court in its 2023-2024 session, oral argument in U.S. v. Rahimi was held before the Court on November 7th.

Who is Rahimi and what is the Rahimi case? Zachary Rahimi is a drug dealer with a history of armed violence towards intimate partners and of firing guns in public places. The 5th Circuit appeals court ruled that Rahimi’s rights were violated when law enforcement disarmed him due to the protective order against him. It is this decision that the Supreme Court will review, deciding if a federal law prohibiting possession of firearms by people subject to domestic violence protection orders is Constitutional—in other words if an abuser who has a protection order or restraining order against them can legally keep their guns. Current federal law, in effect for almost 30 years, protects abuse victims and survivors by prohibiting people subject to domestic violence restraining orders from possessing firearms. It was routinely upheld as Constitutional, until the Supreme Court issued the Bruen decision in 2022, which dramatically changed how courts can rule on Second Amendment cases – from a combination of historic tradition of gun regulation and public safety to primarily consistency with historic tradition. If the Supreme Court overturns this law, it would likely increase domestic gun violence and put lives—especially the lives of women—at risk. In Colorado, 81% of domestic violence fatalities in 2021 were a result of gunshot wounds. Male perpetrators with female victims constituted 89% of the state’s DV cases. The Court will probably issue its decision in June or July 2024.

(from Johns Hopkins University Center for Gun Violence Solutions, John's Hopkins Questions on the Rahimi Case)

Article contributed by Stephanie Greenberg, Congregation Bonai Shalom

Use the QR code above or register for League of Women Voters Zoom Presentation by Dr. Emmy Beta here:  https://www.lwvcolorado.org/content.aspx?page_id=4002&club_id=314195&item_id=2021393

From the Advocacy Team

The Colorado General Assembly will begin its 2024 session on January 10th. As each firearm-related bill is introduced into the Legislature and the date/time for its committee hearing is announced, the Advocacy Team will send out a Rapid Response Alert. The Alert will contain all the information you and members of your congregation's Rapid Response Network need to contact committee members about the bill prior to the hearing. If your congregation doesn't have a Rapid Response Network or you'd like to expand your RRN, please see: "How to Develop A Rapid Response Network in Your Congregation"

All About Colorado’s ERPO Law

HISTORY OF ERPO. Discussions by Ceasefire and others about drafting a law began in 2012 after the Aurora Theater massacre. After one unsuccessful attempt in 2013, a bill was adopted by the Colorado legislature in 2019 after the December 31, 2017 shooting death of Douglas County Deputy Zachary Parrish while responding to a threatening gun violence call, and revised in 2023 broadening the category of individuals and professionals authorized to petition the courts for an ERPO to be issued.

CURRENTLY. Twenty-one other states and the District of Columbia have adopted similar regulations. While attacked in court by the firearms and other gun rights organizations as being a violation of Second, Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments, ERPO laws have been found to be Constitutional in nearly every case. In the few instances where they have been found flawed by the courts, the rulings have been based on a lack of due process considerations in the text of the laws. Colorado’s ERPO law successfully addresses due process concerns.

APPLICATION: In brief, ERPO is a civil, not criminal, order that may be issued when a person poses a significant risk to self (e.g suicidal ideation) or others (e,g. threats of violence, history of domestic violence or aggression towards others) by having a firearm in his or her custody. Issuance of an ERPO prohibits that person from possessing or purchasing firearms for a defined period of time.

Read more of this article here: All About Colorado's ERPO Law

For more detailed information about national and state ERPOs, go to https://giffords.org and/or https://everytown.org, then enter “ERPO”.

• For specific information about Colorado, including text, data, history, issues raised about ERPO, how to file an ERPO petition and other topics, go to https://coloradoceasefire.org/about/ then enter “ERPO”.

• Supplemental information on Colorado ERPOs with text and charts can be found at www.cpr.org/ERPO (print date January 30, 2023)

Article Contributed by Peter Fogg

Urgent Action Needed: Supporting the Proposed ATF Rule

A new rule has been proposed by the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) that would close a major loophole in the current Federal background check system. The proposed rule would broaden and clarify the definition of who is “engaged in the business” of dealing in firearms and would therefore be required to obtain a federal firearms license (FFL) and perform background checks. The broader definition would include "all persons who devote time, attention, and labor to dealing in firearms … to predominantly earn a profit through the repetitive purchase and sale of firearms.”  This new definition targets occasional sellers of firearms, who tend to be at gun shows and on-line but are not federally licensed and therefore do not conduct background checks. Guns sold without background checks can fall into dangerous hands, including convicted felons, domestic abusers, gun traffickers, and other prohibited persons, with no questions asked. Colorado closed this loophole in 2000 but is surrounded by states that haven’t. 

Please submit your individual comments supporting this proposed rule. We have until December 7, 2023 by 10:00 PM Mountain Time. 

You can see read more of this article and see links to more resources here: Supporting the ATF Ruling

Article contributed by Stephanie Greenberg, Congregation Bonai Shalom

CFCU November Calendar

• December 5: 2 - 3 p.m. Advocacy Team Meeting, For Zoom link, agenda, and other information, contact researchswgreenberg@gmail.com

• December 6: Vigil to Honor Victims of Sandy Hook and All Who Have Been Harmed by Gun Violence

• December 9: 10 a.m.- 12 p.m. Guns to Gardens Location: Westwood Community Center, 1000 S. Lowell Blvd. 10 a.m. - 12 p.m.

• December 13: 5:30 p.m. on zoom: League of Women Voters presents Dr. Emmy Betz

• December 19: 3:30 - 5:00 CFCU Steering Committee on Zoom, contact Alana Smart (alanaks@aol.com) for more information

• December 21: 1 p.m. CFCU Communications Meeting, contact Daryl Foeske (dfoelske@gmail.com) for more information and for Zoom Link

• January 17: 11 a.m - 12:30 p.m. Public Health Strategies Meeting on Zoom, contact Alana Smart (alanaks@aol.com) for more information