The Denver Fur Ban is a succinct title for a ballot measure. But opponents of the November initiative say its effects will be anything but simple, and they prefer to wrangle with specifics when they make their points.
Initiated Ordinance 308 — which seeks to prohibit the manufacturing, sale, trade and display of select fur products — would have a raft of consequences that go beyond prohibiting retailers in the Mile High City from selling fox and raccoon fur coats, those opponents say.
It also could cut into the inventory at fly-fishing shops, people in the angling business say. It could upend the market for custom hat makers who are keeping Denver’s dusty old cow town traditions alive.
The measure could even make it more difficult for people with Indigenous ancestry to purchase fur products that are part of their cultural heritage. That, despite a specific carveout in the proposed ordinance’s language that would allow members of federally recognized Native American tribes to purchase products for tribal, cultural and spiritual purposes, opponents say.
“I think the exemption that whoever wrote was very specific and very narrow. And I think it was written without a clear understanding that across the United States, a majority of American Indians are self-identified — and not officially enrolled with any federally recognized tribes,” said Ernest House Jr., the former director executive director of the Colorado Commission of Indian Affairs. He’s a member of the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe.
Read the full story from our partners at The Denver Post.
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