Got a CCW? You Better Read This

New Concealed Carry Law Takes Effect July 1
Plus a Lib Bonus: Vehicle Weapons Now Must Be Locked Up

by George Gramlich,
News and Commentary
Well, thanks to our anti-2nd Amendment democrat run state senate and assembly, our gun hating Governor Polis, and with the help of our local flatlander lefty immigrants who helped elect those tyrants, us peasants who want to conceal carry a weapon (CCW) now have to take an eight-hour course, pass a written exam, and successfully shoot 50 booolits at a paper target. These requirements apply to first time applicants. Renewals now also have their own mandated course.
(According to Custer County Sheriff Rich Smith, as of the first week of 2025, only ONE instructor has been certified to give the course.)
If you are renewing your county CCW, you must take a TWO-hour “refresher” course which also includes a written exam and live fire, both of which you must pass to renew your permit.
This law takes effect July 1, 2025. The cost of the two courses are unknown. Availability might be very limited. (What the democrats did with this law is to make it much more difficult to obtain a CCW as they despise the fact that ordinary citizens have the right to defend themselves, and others, from criminal acts. The dems have unleashed a CRIME WAVE IN Colorado over the last ten years with de-criminalizing criminal acts, not putting criminals in jail and releasing thousands that were in jail. They ignore the fact that CCW permit holders are the most law-abiding class of citizens in the country. So we must be punished. It appears that our Colorado dems want to disarm law abiding citizens. I wonder why? Note that criminals don’t seem to apply for a CCW.)
What else could the Denver lefties do in the last legislative session to make us serfs less safe and put our lives in danger? Oh, they don’t like us having a handgun in our vehicle. Yup. Colorado is nearly the carjacking capital of North America and the lib legislature last year passed a law, effective January 1, 2025 that requires you to put your vehicle handgun in a locked, hard cased, container when you leave your car. Plus it has to be “out of sight”. And the vehicle must be locked. Nice. And it doesn’t matter where the vehicle is! Could be at your ranch. Could be in your garage. The law, as designated in the legislative is HB24-1348. As stated in the law, the penalty for violating it: “Unsafe storage of a firearm in a vehicle is a civil infraction.”
Let’s say we are going to go shopping down in Cañon City. Gonna hit four or five places and run back up the hill. Now, because of the dems, you get in your vehicle here, search for the locked container that you have to store “out of sight”. Find the key to unlock it (or remember the combination). Unlock it. Safely remove the weapon. Place it in a spot where you can grab it if you need it. Put the case somewhere. Only now are you ready to start your vehicle and begin your journey down to the great swamp.
The first place you stop in Cañon is a gas station to fill up. Turn vehicle off. Remember, if you don’t have a CCW you can’t conceal carry out of your vehicle. By the statute, YOU CAN’T GET OUT OF YOUR VEHICLE TO PUMP GAS WITHOUT FINDNG THE CASE, PUTTING THE GUN IN THERE, LOCKING IT, AND THEN HIDING IT. Only then can you exit the vehicle. (Don’t forget you also have to lock the vehicle just to pump gas.) So when the two Biden illegals from Honduras sidle up to you, one holding a knife and want your money, your keys and your vehicle. And maybe YOU. And your wife and kids. Instead of being able to easily retrieve your weapon and defend yourself and your property and family, you are at their mercy. This is what a peasant looks like, folks. You are not a Citizen. You are a helpless peasant. Repeat this scenario during your trip to town at Wally World, King Soopers, Tractor Supply or the coffee shop. Every time you exit your vehicle you have to go through the deep state storage torture. Every time you are helpless when the boogie men come. This is liberal America. This is Colorado.
(Plus, this law forces you to continue to handle a loaded weapon over and over again just to go shopping. Taking the gun in and out of a locked container has an element of danger, as well as placing it in the vehicle so you can retrieve it quickly. And finally, retrieving the loaded, placed handgun back in the container, in its confined environment, also has safety issues. But, as with all dems, you can’t fix stupid….)
So we have two new laws that both restrict our 2nd Amendment rights. And more are coming this year. (The Denver libs have a bill lined up for this year to BAN detachable magazines. For ANY long gun. All new long guns would have to be single shot. I kid you not. How come the SCOTUS decisions Heller and Bruen don’t seem to apply here?)
Below are the legislative CCW and vehicle storage law summaries for your reading pleasure:
(To see the entire, enacted laws, see: https://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/2024a_1174_signed.pdf and https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/hb24-1348
HB24-1174
Concealed Carry Permits & Training
Concerning permits to carry a concealed handgun, and, in connection therewith, establishing standards for concealed handgun training classes.
SESSION: 2024 Regular Session
SUBJECT: Crimes, Corrections, & Enforcement
BILL SUMMARY
Under existing law, an applicant for a permit to carry a concealed handgun (permit) must demonstrate competence with a handgun. An applicant may demonstrate competence with a handgun in a number of ways, including by completing a training class offered by a certified instructor within 10 years before submitting an application for a permit. Pursuant to the act, beginning July 1, 2025, an applicant may demonstrate competence with a handgun by completing a training class only if the class satisfies the minimum standards for a training class, described below, and the applicant completes the class within one year before submitting an application for a permit. The act also allows a person to demonstrate competence with a handgun for the purpose of obtaining a permit by holding a current certification as a peace officer.
An initial concealed handgun training class is a law enforcement training firearms safety course or a firearms safety course taught by an instructor verified by a county sheriff (verified instructor) that is held in person and includes instruction regarding:
• Knowledge and safe handling of firearms and ammunition;
• Safe storage of firearms and child safety;
• Safe shooting fundamentals;
• Federal and state laws pertaining to the lawful purchase, ownership, transportation, use, and possession of firearms.
• State law pertaining to the use of deadly force for self-defense;
• Best practices for safely interacting with law enforcement personnel who are responding to an emergency; and
• Techniques for avoiding a criminal attack and how to manage a violent confrontation, including conflict resolution and judgmental use of lethal force.
A student must achieve a passing score on a written concealed handgun competency exam and in a live-fire exercise to complete an initial concealed handgun training class. An initial concealed handgun training class must provide at least 8 hours of instruction, including the live-fire exercise and written exam.
Beginning July 1, 2025, the act requires an applicant to renew a permit to demonstrate competence with a handgun. A renewal applicant may demonstrate competence with a handgun through participation in organized shooting competitions, current military service, or current certification as a peace officer; by being a verified instructor for firearms safety courses; by showing honorable discharge from a branch of the United States armed forces or retirement from a Colorado law enforcement agency with pistol qualifications within 10 years prior to submitting a renewal form; or completing an initial concealed handgun training class or a concealed handgun refresher class (refresher class) within 6 months prior to submitting a renewal form.
A refresher class must be held in person, be taught by a verified instructor, include instruction on changes to laws related to firearms, and require a passing score on a live-fire exercise and written exam. A refresher class must provide at least 2 hours of instruction, including the live-fire exercise and written exam.
The act requires a county sheriff to verify as training instructors any person whose principal place to conduct firearms training is in the sheriff’s county. To be a verified instructor, a person must hold a valid concealed carry permit and be certified as a firearms instructor by a law enforcement agency, college or university, nationally recognized organization that customarily offers firearms training, or firearms train-ing school. Denial, suspension, or revo-
cation of an instructor verification is subject to judicial review. It is a deceptive trade practice for a person to claim to be a verified instructor for a concealed handgun training class unless the person is verified as a firearms instructor by a county sheriff.
The act prohibits a person from being issued a permit if the person was convicted of certain misdemeanor offenses within 5 years before submitting a permit application.
APPROVED by Governor June 4, 2024
PORTIONS EFFECTIVE
August 7, 2024
PORTIONS EFFECTIVE
July 1, 2025
(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
______

HB24-1348
Secure Firearm Storage in a Vehicle
Concerning a requirement to securely store a firearm in a vehicle.
SESSION: 2024 Regular Session
SUBJECT: Crimes, Corrections, & Enforcement
BILL SUMMARY
The act prohibits knowingly leaving a handgun in an unattended vehicle unless the handgun is stored in a locked hard-sided container that is placed out of plain view and the container is in a locked vehicle, the locked trunk of the locked vehicle, or a locked recreational vehicle.
The act prohibits knowingly leaving a firearm that is not a handgun in an unattended vehicle unless the firearm is stored in a locked hard-sided or soft-sided container that is placed out of plain view and the container is in a locked vehicle, the locked trunk of the locked vehicle, or a locked recreational vehicle. A firearm that is not a handgun that is stored in a soft-sided container must have a locking device installed on the firearm while stored in the soft-sided container.
A person who is considered to have a disability who stores a firearm in a locked soft-sided container does not violate the
requirement to store a firearm in a hard-
sided container. The act includes exceptions from the storage requirement for storing antique firearms, storing a firearm that is a not a handgun in a vehicle being used for farm or ranch operations, a person who lives in a vehicle or in a recreational vehicle, peace officers and active members of the armed forces, and certain activities related to lawful hunting.

Unsafe storage of a firearm in a vehicle is a civil infraction.
APPROVED by Governor
May 15, 2024
EFFECTIVE January 1, 2025
(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)