REFORM COLORADO'S ASSET FORFEITURE LAWS
Federal, state, and local governments are raking in billions of dollars by seizing cash and taking property of innocent citizens and selling it in order to fill their coffers.
Civil asset forfeiture laws represent a serious abuse of private property rights, and this gross abuse will continue if we don’t act now.
Using civil asset forfeiture, police and prosecutors can seize your property, sell it, and use the proceeds to fund government bureaucracies.
The owner of the property doesn’t need to be guilty of a crime, so authorities are able to seize your car, home, money, or valuables, with or without a warrant, even if you are innocent.
Civil asset forfeiture, which might better be described as “legal thievery,” has become big business for government at all levels, and it is currently generating billions of dollars annually.
There are many examples of innocent people being stripped of their money and property by federal, state, and local authorities, without due process, and it is time to fight back.
Please take action TODAY by signing the petition below.
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PETITION TO THE GOVERNOR and MY STATE REPRESENTATIVES
WHEREAS, property confiscated by the authorities is sold and the profits are kept by local and state agencies to fill their coffers; and
WHEREAS, civil asset forfeiture laws represent a serious abuse of private property rights; and
WHEREAS, under civil asset forfeiture, property owners are effectively guilty until proven innocent, as they are forced to bear the cost of going to court and the burden of proving their property’s “innocence”; and
WHEREAS, Colorado forfeiture laws need further reform; and
WHEREAS, H.B. 1313 requires that law enforcement agencies, prosecutors, and multijurisdictional task forces file biannual reports accessible by the public, requires annual reports be provided to the governor, the attorney general, and the judiciary committees of the general assembly, and virtually eliminates "Equitable Sharing" of proceeds with federal authorities.
Therefore, be it resolved that I demand that my Governor and State Legislators support House Bill 1313 and any legislation that protects Colorado citizens from overreach of law enforcement agencies.