New Colorado Concealed Carry Law and Implications
In June 2024 Governor Polis signed into law HB24-1174 which will go into effect on July 1st, 2025.
Image courtesy of Colorado Ceasefire
This law will change several key elements of the concealed carry training standards and processes we’ve been practicing in Colorado since 2003. Before I dive into the details I want to note a few important things for those of you looking to obtain the permit.
Since this law will change the training to require 8 hours of training to include both classroom and live fire range time we will be offering the class moving forward in TWO 4-HOUR PARTS. Part 1 will take place in a classroom and Part 2 on a live range. Students must complete both 4-hour parts before being eligible to apply for a permit AFTER July 1st, 2025.
If you can manage to get your application submitted prior to July 1st, 2025 only Part 1 will be necessary.
To reiterate, this law doesn’t go into effect until July 1st, 2025. That means that up until that date you can take any existing class (that doesn’t meet the future requirements) and still apply for your permit. Similarly, if your permit is to expire before the new law goes into effect you can renew it without taking a certified renewal class as outlined by the new law.
So far several counties have confirmed that as long as your application is submitted prior to July 1st, 2025 your training can meet the old standards even if the process carries beyond July 1st. We assume all counties will follow that standard but don’t have the capacity to confirm with each of them.
Second, this law is going to make it less convenient and more expensive for people to get a concealed carry permit. This will lead to people feeling more intimidated and will ultimately mean less people will go through the process. This is heartbreaking. I strongly urge anyone who has an interest to please take the time and make the commitment to go through the necessary training to legally obtain the permit.
What follows is a rough summary of the changes that this law will impose:
Before July 1st, 2025: Almost any firearm safety class taught by a certified instructor qualifies the student to apply for a concealed handgun permit. No live fire or test is required and no specific number of hours or length of class is specified by law. Further, in order to apply one needed to show having completed such a class in the previous 10 years.
With the new law: In order to qualify to apply for a permit, the class must run no less than 8 hours (it doesn’t have to be consecutive). Further, the class must include both a live fire qualification as well as a written test. The written test MUST be open book, and the live fire test must consist of no less than 50 rounds fired. There isn’t any specificity as to what these tests look like beyond a minimum score though since it would seem the instructor can define both the test and the scoring method it doesn’t really matter. One must show having completed such a class in the previous year.
Before July 1st, 2025: Permits expire every 5 years and when renewing the permittee needs to demonstrate they have completed a qualifying class in the past 10 years.
With the new law: Those wishing to renew their permit must complete a “concealed carry renewal class” or the standard new concealed carry class in the 6 months prior to submitting the renewal application.
The new law also has a new verification process for instructors like me to get verified by a county sheriff and the county sheriff will be required to post a list of all verified instructors in their county online.
Typical Polis 🙄
wow CA rules will be in effect here is CO
Thank God he’s done and out of office, now we can only hope to get someone Elected into office will govern our State instead of being a Dictator, Dictating our so called democracy and removing our rights instead of protecting them. But like every politician out there if their lips are moving they’re lying.
This is unconstitutional. While traing and safety are recommended, even the idea of asking for a permission slip is not constitutional. The law of the land is, “shall not be infringed”. That means that no infringement of firearms ownership is allowed by ANY government or jurisdiction. This was not held to vote either so it’s undemocratic. It’s also not representation, as the state is controlled and our representatives are overwhelmingly plugged in by cheating and corruption.
This law is restrictive and has implications to it that discourage us from obtaining firearms. This piece of legislation is in conflict with the philosophy of our founding principles, namely, that we do not trade freedom for safety. It was pushed by anti-human lobby groups blaming the guns for tragedies caused by our own intelligence agencies and exacerbating the right persons and nudging them to commit these atrocities. Crimes of the state are being obfuscated and used to punish citizens.
Criminals will still not abide by these new laws. Furthermore, the defense of one’s life against enemies foreign and domestic is also a bad law on the books. Use of deadly force while anywhere outside of the home is justified in a time where terrorist cells, criminal gangs and dangers to society at large have been unleashed on the public via the government aiding and abetting invasion and treason in an act of war against the people.
If there are any lawyers this should be challenged. Furthermore, the banning of certain weapons is also illegal. The makers of these new laws have no understanding of arms.
Please fight this someone out there, we need to challenge this law. We are begging for representation, law and justice. We need to take this to court but they do this every time, enriching lawyers to fight the corrupt system.
If nobody does anything, expect full rebellion and non-compliance resulting in criminalizing law-abiding citizens that practice safety, responsibility and desire to protect themselves and their loved ones from threats the government has unleashed waging war against us.