DENVER–A state law in effect as of July 1 layers on new education and training burdens for obtaining and renewing permits for the carrying of a concealed handgun in Colorado, this despite data suggesting permit holders are already an exceptionally responsible and law-abiding group.
House Bill 24-1174 passed along party lines in the Democrat-controlled legislature last year, and among other things significantly expands classroom training requirements to obtain a concealed handgun permit (CHP), to include a live-fire exercise and a written exam, with instructors “verified” by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation.
The bill additionally requires a “refresher” class for the renewal of a permit, which includes the exam and live-fire mandates. Nowhere does the bill cite evidence of any issues arising from previous requirements, nor of CHP holders as committing acts of gun violence.
This is on top of the fingerprint-based background check already long required by law.
The in-person course, among other things, covers firearm handling, shooting and storage, as well as state laws on self-defense and purchasing, owning, or transporting a firearm. The course can be broken up into hourly increments if necessary.
Colorado concealed carry permits are valid for five years, and a CHP holder may renew their permit up to 120 days before expiration.
Despite a growing hostility towards CHP holders by the legislature and anti-gun rights groups, Colorado continues to see an uptick in concealed carry permits. As previously reported by Complete Colorado, from 2020-2024, 161,000 Colorado adults put themselves under the legal scrutiny required for carry permits, and another 146,000 renewed existing permits.
County sheriffs’ offices also saw an increase in concealed carry permits during the last few weeks of June. Douglas County, for example, saw a record 95 new permit applications, and 53 renewals in a single day as residents rushed to beat the July 1 deadline for the harsher requirements. A CBS4 interview quotes applicants referring to the new law as both “burdensome” and “unnecessary.”
David Kopel, research director at the Independence Institute* in Denver, has shown that concealed handgun permit holders as a group are remarkably law-abiding.
During a 2022 debate over concealed carry in city parks, 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.”
“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,” writes Kopel. “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.”
The Crime Prevention Research Center in 2024 estimated that just under 18 percent of the Colorado population 21 or older holds a carry permit.
*Independence Institute is publisher of Complete Colorado.
