CWP's on the rise in Colorado

http://www.gazette.com/articles/applica ... tml/county _permits.html

Applications for concealed-weapon permits up 87% in El Paso County
By ED SEALOVER
March 10, 2008 - 7:28PM
DENVER - Applications for concealed-carry weapon permits in El Paso County rose 87 percent in 2007, fueled partly by several highprofile violent incidents locally and nationwide, said Sheriff Terry Maketa.

Permit applications rose 50 percent statewide and more than doubled in 18 of Colorado's 64 counties, according to a report issued Monday by County Sheriffs of Colorado.

Executive Director Don Christensen downplayed violence as a reason permit applications were up, noting the 2003 law mandating statewide concealed-carry permitting required that anyone who had a local permit before the law went into effect had to renew it by June 2007.

But Maketa said that of the 2,101 permits issued in El Paso County in 2007, roughly 75 percent were from new applications rather than renewals. El Paso County issued the highest number of concealed-weapon permits of any county in the state in 2007, but it is also the most populated, according to the 2006 Census.

Maketa said the greatest spikes in applications over the past year have come right after well-publicized incidents of violence.

After the February 2007 mall shooting in Utah, applications rose from 81 in February to 191 in March. Then, after the April rampage in which a gunman killed 32 people at Virginia Tech, applications went up from 174 in April to the year's monthly high, 210 applications, in May.

The trend continued after the December shooting of two sisters at New Life Church. Applications rose from 123 in December to 171 in January to 294 in February, according to figures from the Sheriff's Office.

The spike in the number of murders in Colorado Springs and a spate of legislative bills that cut into gun rights last year also factored into the equation, Maketa said.

He said he is not concerned about the growing number of legally armed people in the county. In fact, he said he believes law-abiding citizens make the region safer by getting the permits.

"Actually, I wish it was a higher number, because I know from experience that offenders in the jail system tell me they avoid crimes against people because they know there is a very high concealed-carry rate," Maketa said.

About 8,400 El Paso County residents now have active concealed-carry permits. The jurisdiction with the second-highest number of permits, Jefferson County, issued 1,139 in 2007 - 54 percent of El Paso's total.

Rep. Amy Stephens, a Monument Republican and House Judiciary Committee member, argued even more strongly than Maketa that people have been running to get permits because they believe their 2nd Amendment rights are being compromised while crime is going up.

She cited last year's SB34, which curtailed Coloradans' ability to use a concealed-carry permit issued by another state, and the news from earlier this year that the state parole board has increased the number of criminals it has let out of jail in recent months.

"I think people are saying, ‘Hey, if you're going to let criminals out and not protect us, we're going to have to protect ourselves,'" Stephens said.

Sen. John Morse, a Colorado Springs Democrat and author of SB34, said that though he does not think concealed weapons add to anyone's safety, he is not alarmed at the rise in permits. Because the state keeps a database of permit holders and can revoke a permit quickly if the person commits a crime, the general public is not at risk, the former Fountain police chief said.

El Paso also led the state in the number of permits denied (44) and revoked (49) last year. Thirty-four of the 49 revocations occurred because the permit holder was arrested, but Maketa said he does not believe any of those arrests were connected to the improper use of a weapon.

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Kathy Blackshear
Blackshear Investigations
Blackshear Bail Bonds
Sales Associate, Prepaid Legal Services, Inc.
Walsenburg, CO

Proud Member of the AB Reject Club

I'm not trying to make this a political debate, but you have to notice the varying opinions between the Republican representative and the Democratic one. I'm rather curious about his comment about "the state keeping a database of permit holders and can revoke the permit quickly if...". The El Paso County Sheriff appears to be very in favor of issuing the permits, so I'm sure that is a benefit to the overall law.

In Colorado, the permits are issued by the sheriff in the person's county of residency, and the sheriff is the one to make the decision to issue the permit, and also the decision to revoke or not. I jumped through all the hoops (went well beyond the state required training of a 4 hour safety class with no range time) to get mine. Shortly after that, I got into a discussion with my local sheriff about the fact that a person never had to fire a gun to get their CCW, and how scary that was to me. He agreed, but also told me that at least around here, LE pretty much knew who could shoot (regardless of their class completion) so permits were also issued somewhat on that basis. I could have probably gotten mine without taking the class, just by virtue of my job and that everyone knew that I open carried long before I applied for my permit. SCARY!!!

Denver is the only county that really fought the 2003 CCW law making the permit state-wide was Denver. They went so far as to file a lawsuit against the state to prevent their compliance. They lost the concealed issue, but a local ordinance prevents a person from open carry. That is also against state law, but their reasoning is that it is dangerous because of the dense population. This article says that El Paso County is the most populated, so I'm curious how that will affect Denver's claim.

Right now, my CCW is reciprocal in 27 other states, and the list is always growing. The HB doesn't restrict a resident's right to get a CCW or the resident of another reciprocal state's right to carry concealed here, just says that if you become a resident your previous state CCW is not valid here.

Also, by statute, a weapon is not considered concealed if it is anywhere in your home, vehicle, or place of business. It is only considered concealed if it is on your person and you are outside one of these places. I have only had to argue this one time (ironically with an El Paso County Deputy) when medical issues caused us to have to take a person in for medical evaluation prior to the jail accepting them. He tried to tell me that my weapon was "concealed" because it was under the van seat in the hospital parking lot while we were inside with the defendant. He backed down rather quickly when I started quoting the law to him.

With my CCW, I can carry on my person or in my possession most everywhere. The exclusions are on school property, into a government building where it is posted and/or you have to pass through a metal detector, or any other place or building where it is posted that weapons are not allowed.

I am also not required to tell LE that I have a weapon unless I am specifically asked. We are a "no tell" state. My SOP was pretty much to keep my hands visible and tell them that I was armed and exactly where it was until I took my class. The instructor told us that we were just asking for trouble by doing so. It still depends on the LE contact and what causes it whether I do so, but I tend to be much less "open" now. I don't break the law, and LE knows what I drive, so unless I notify them that I am going out to door-knock, I really have no contact. They also know that I have my CCW and that I carry, so they pretty much assume that I am always armed, and don't bother to ask. This is in my local area where I am known.

Anytime I am working elsewhere, I make sure that LE knows that we are there, and that we are armed. Sometimes they roll with us, sometimes they don't, but making the call makes things easier and safer for all of us. State law does not require us to check in, but we have found it much easier to do so rather than getting our cover blown, or playing 20 questions with the local LE when a neighbor or defendant or cosigner calls in on us. Even locally I always let dispatch know when I am hitting a door, and almost everytime we go out, PD gets called on us and at least does a drive-by to check it out. Sometimes they have to stop and reassure a nervous neighbor, but usually they just give us a wave and go on with more important calls. An ounce of prevention...

_________________
Kathy Blackshear
Blackshear Investigations
Blackshear Bail Bonds
Sales Associate, Prepaid Legal Services, Inc.
Walsenburg, CO

Proud Member of the AB Reject Club

I say nothing when I carry...the only time I say something is when I have to go into lockup where there are no weapons allowed. If go out alone, especially at night, Brutus comes along for the ride. It's like Don't Ask, Don't Tell...Besides, people see a weapon around here and they flip out..

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Kate
650.863.8470

" Yeah, I see ya, you ding dong..."

Seems that most of the "wonderful areas" that we end up, carrying is not an issue. In fact, its not really an option. The superior court judge of the county in which you reside grants permits, here. It seems that as long as you fit the requirements (which are very laxed) then it gets granted. My wife has hers and she had never even held a weapon until she got it. My mom has had a permit for 5 years and has still never had a weapon in her hands. But she got hers because dad always carries (illegally in some states; crazy ole man) and if she needs to she can use his gun and have, atleast, some form of documentation. Strange idea, but thats the way it is here.

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Thomas SnoWolf
FRN# 1999
GAPB 20120726
NSIS ST0707
http://www.rocksolidrg.com
"The hero is not the man that acts without fear,
He is the man that acts inspite of fear"