By BRIAN PORTER | Rocky Mountain Voice
A bill led by Eastern Colorado legislators will declare a Women Veterans Appreciation Day, if signed into law by Gov. Jared Polis.
House Bill 1236 cleared the Senate State, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee without objection last week and Monday earned unanimous support of the Colorado Senate.
“There’s a lot of reasons why we need to celebrate women veterans,” said Sen. Byron Pelton, a co-prime sponsor of the legislation in the Colorado Senate. “Being a veteran myself, I know the difference of treatment of myself and those I served with that happen to be female.”
The bill establishes June 12 as Women Veterans Appreciation Day in Colorado. The other prime sponsors of the bill were Rep. Richard Holtorf and Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer.
The legislation notes the three million women who have volunteered in military service to the United States from the American Revolution, in disguise, through other wars and current-day service. Currently, there are 8,500 women serving in the six branches of the U.S. military and there are more than 47,000 women veterans who call Colorado home, the bill continues.
The contributions of women in the military includes the selection in 2013 of the first female major general to be selected as superintendent of the Air Force Academy, and in 2020 Gov. Polis naming the first female adjutant general of Colorado.
If signed into law, Colorado would join 21 other states observing June 12 as a day to recognize women veterans.
“This was a very noble, honorable effort to recognize female veterans,” said Holtorf, who retired as a colonel in the U.S. Army following five deployments and three combat tours.
He was concerned “partisan politics” might derail the bill in the House, before it could get to the Senate.
“If you want to help women veterans, why would not want to support this?,” he asked, but it was opposed by 22 members of the House.
The bill indicates women veterans face higher rates of unemployment and homelessness than male veterans, face higher rates of poverty, encounter as much as three times the rate of post-traumatic stress, one in 12 are sexually assaulted while on duty, and women veterans die by suicide at six times the rate of civilians. The needs of women veterans have yet to be met by national, state and local veterans service organizations, the bill reads.
“This provides an incredible opportunity to honor the service and sacrifice of women veterans,” said Bruce Cowan, the director of veteran affairs for Colorado.
Women are the fastest growing segment of enlisted persons in the military, the bill notes. The annual observance will serve “as an annual call to veterans organizations statewide to review their programs and work toward improving outcomes for women veterans,” the bill reads.