Concealed Carry Applications Soar In Colorado

Colorado Springs, CO ~ Applications for concealed-weapon permits have skyrocketed in Colorado, with the increase fueled by everything from heavily publicized mass shootings to routine renewals, according to the state's sheriffs.

In 2007, 9,880 people statewide sought permits, compared with 6,649 people in 2006 and 6,670 people in 2005, according to the County Sheriffs of Colorado.

And the surge has continued into 2008 in several counties.

Law-enforcement experts have different ideas on why more people want to carry concealed weapons. Some believe it is due to a rash of violent outbreaks at Virginia Tech, Northern Illinois University and a mall in Utah.

Some sheriff's offices believe churches concerned about protecting their flocks are seeking concealed-carry permits. Another official believes many of the initial batch of five-year permits in the state are expiring soon and that people are simply renewing applications. Those seeking permits are not required to explain why they want to carry a weapon. Whatever the reason, the trend is real.

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.

"People want to defend themselves," said Doug Davis, president of the Pikes Peak Firearms Coalition. "That's why they get permits."

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