DENVER — New requirements to obtain a concealed carry permit in Colorado took effect on Tuesday.
Under House Bill 24-1174, applicants must complete eight hours of in-person training and education on things like safe storage and handling of weapons. There is also now a live fire training requirement.
One day into the new requirements, some Colorado sheriff's offices and concealed carry instructors are reporting struggles.
Politics
Colorado's new concealed carry requirements begin July 1
"We follow the letter of the law. We do cover what is required under the state requirements," said Issac Chase, co-founder of Guns for Everyone, a Colorado-based company that offers free concealed carry courses.
Chase told Denver7 they received an increase in people seeking permits in the months before the new requirements took effect.
"The big spike came early in the spring when people started to realize that not only do you need to be aware of these new requirements, but if you're going to try to get in before the new requirements take place, you have to get in line with the sheriff's department," Chase said.
The Weld County Sheriff's Office also reported a surge in permit requests.
"Yesterday being the last day of the month, we had 180 [people] come in and we actually stopped taking applicants," said Weld County Sheriff Steve Reams. "On a typical month, we process around 600 permits. This last month, June, we processed 1,500."
Chase said instructors are worried that the added requirements by the state may distract students from more important lessons in a concealed carry course.
"The new state requirements require that we cover de-escalation in a concealed carry class. A single concealed carry class, in no way, is going to provide adequate information or training," he said. "The law also requires that the class covers all the gun laws pertaining to the possession, carrying, and purchasing of firearms that have changed in the last five years at the state and federal level. I don't even think an attorney could do that in eight hours in a concealed carry class."
Sheriff Reams believes the extra requirements create a burden for responsible gun owners who are interested in following the law.
"What we're actually doing is making people jump through hoops to try to protect themselves from the very people that they were concerned with," said Reams.
The sheriff told Denver7 it's unlikely in his jurisdiction that the people arrested for committing crimes with a weapon obtained a concealed carry permit.
While supporters of the new law are hoping it encourages more responsible gun ownership, critics aren't convinced.
"We've seen a lot of confusion from people and a lot of panic," Chase said. "And again, these people are signing up for the classes because they, all of a sudden, now the law is forcing them to make a quick decision."
HB24-1174 also requires local sheriff's offices to create and maintain a list of concealed carry instructors who have their own concealed carry permits. Guns for Everyone is in the early stages of pursuing litigation against the state for this requirement, claiming it directly defies a separate state law that prohibits such databases from existing.
