DENVER– Despite majority Democrats in the legislature heaping new restrictions on the lawful carrying of concealed handguns, new data shows 29,495 Colorado adults still subjected themselves to the scrutiny required to become concealed handgun permit (CHP) holders in 2024, while another 27,751 renewed existing permits.  That’s according to a County Sheriffs of Colorado annual report, published earlier this month.

While that number trails a permitting surge during Covid lock-downs and rioting related to the police killing of George Floyd (over 37,000 in 2020 and more than 41,000 in 2021), it’s larger than both the 23,250 permits issued in pre-pandemic 2019 and the 25,218 issued in 2023.

In the five-year period covering 2020-2024, just over 161,000 Coloradans obtained new permits, while more than 146,000 existing permits were renewed (a Colorado CHP is valid for five years).

The Crime Prevention Research Center in 2024 estimated that just under 18 percent of the Colorado population 21 or older holds a carry permit.

Shall issue

Colorado is what is known as a ‘shall issue’ state, meaning as long as an applicant passes the basic requirements set out by law, the issuing authority is, for the most part, required to issue a permit.

CHP applicants must pass a fingerprint-based criminal background check and a firearms training class by a certified instructor, and it must be taken in person. Permits are usually issued by elected county sheriffs, though in Denver and Broomfield it’s through the police department. Depending on where you live the process could be completed in a few weeks to as long as several months.

Sheriffs are allowed some leeway for permit denials or revocations, if they believe the applicant is a danger to themselves or others. In Jefferson County, with over 4,400 new and renewed permits and a sheriff endorsed by extreme gun control groups, an aggressive 31 applicants were denied for what the report calls ‘discretionary’ reasons. In Weld County, with just under 5000 new and renewed permits and an overtly pro-gun rights sheriff, there were no discretionary denials.

Other reasons for denial or revocation include arrests, residency issues, restraining orders, and mental illness or addiction. Of the more than 52,000 permits either issued or renewed, a modest 592 applicants were denied statewide, while 405 existing permits were revoked.

Permit holders exceptionally law-abiding

David Kopel, research director at the Independence Institute* and adjunct professor of advanced constitutional law at the University of Denver’s Sturm College of Law, notes that concealed handgun permit holders as a group are among Colorado’s most law-abiding citizens.

“Concealed carry is, by its nature, virtually impossible to detect, unless a person walks through a metal detector or is frisked by the police. Obtaining a concealed carry permit requires hundreds of dollars in fees and expenses, including for training, as well as the post-training hours necessary to go through the permitting process,” Kopel said.  “The only people who bother to go through the onerous process are people who are so concerned about legal compliance that they spend significant resources just to obtain a card from the government allowing them to legally do what they could have done anyway for free, and with very low risk of being caught.”

In 2022, Kopel presented data to the Denver City Council showing that among Colorado’s 21 and over adult population, a CHP holder is “about 39 times less likely to be arrested than an adult without one.”

Lawmakers target concealed carry

Concealed carry keeps growing despite majority Democrats in the Colorado legislature passing new laws aimed at making the application process more difficult and expensive, as well as severely restricting where concealed handguns can be lawfully carried.

House Bill 24-1174 significantly expands the classroom training requirements for a permit, to include a live-fire exercise and a written exam, with instructors “verified” by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation.  The bill also requires a “refresher” class for the renewal of a permit. Nowhere does the bill cite evidence of any issues arising from existing requirements, nor of CHP holders as committing gun violence. The bill does require an appropriation of over $364,000 to the Department of Public Safety to implement the law.  While a few provisions of the bill are already in effect, the majority of the new mandates go into effect July 1 of this year.

Senate Bill 24-131 “prohibits a person from carrying a firearm, both openly and concealed” in what the bill designates as “sensitive spaces,” to include government building, colleges and universities, courthouses and schools.

The law, which has been in effect since mid-2024, includes a section that allows local Colorado governments to opt-out of the ban.

As previously reported by Complete Colorado, numerous local government have, or are are working towards opting-out of the law, including Douglas, Logan, Routt, and Weld counties, as well as municipalities such as Pueblo, Palmer Lake and Monument in El Paso County, and Castle Rock in Douglas County.

* Independence Institute is the publisher of Complete Colorado.