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Concealed Weapon Bill on the Move in Colorado Legislature

State lawmakers have given initial approval to a bill that would allow Coloradoans to carry concealed handguns without a permit. The Republican-controlled state house gave the bill the nod Tuesday, despite loud opposition from state law enforcement officers and Democrats. 

In Colorado, a person who wants to carry a concealed handgun must go through two steps, including passing a criminal background check to buy one, followed by getting a permit from a county sheriff to carry one.
concealed.

House bill 1205 would make this second step optional.

"This doesn't allow any criminal to get a concealed permit," said the bill's sponsor, Representative Christ Holbert (R-Parker).  "This is a minor change, and I ask you to trust law abiding citizens."

Current state law requires a higher threshold for people to carry a concealed handgun.

For instance, someone with a history of mental illness, drug and alcohol problems, or a restraining order against them is banned. And while the bill wouldn't change those restrictions, by no longer requiring a permit it would in essence place the right to carry concealed on the honor system.

Representative Daniel Kagan (D-Denver) worries the public won't understand the nuance and that the concealed carry laws won't be enforced.
 

"They will just, say, 'now the legislature has decided that anyone can carry a concealed weapon,' that's the way it will be read," Kagan said. " People who would not otherwise go out and carry a concealed weapon will now feel that they're legally entitled to do so."

The measure cleared the Republican controlled house on a voice vote. It still needs a final vote before it could move to the Democratic controlled senate – where it will likely fail.

Bente Birkeland is an award-winning journalist who joined Colorado Public Radio in August 2018 after a decade of reporting on the Colorado state capitol for the Rocky Mountain Community Radio collaborative and KUNC. In 2017, Bente was named Colorado Journalist of the Year by the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), and she was awarded with a National Investigative Reporting Award by SPJ a year later.