Since the Colorado Legislature passed the suite of gun-related measures in its 2013 session, there has been a dramatic uptick in applications for concealed carry permits as well as general stockpiling of weapons and ammunition. What an interesting reaction to bills that require, really, so little of gun owners.
In Colorado now, those seeking concealed carry permits are required to have some of their training in person, all gun purchases are subject to a background check for the purchaser, and magazine capacity is now limited to 15 rounds. That these measures would trigger a rush to arms suggests a fear of something far beyond what the new laws dictate — namely that they are the beginning of a long game to eradicate guns statewide or even across the country. That is hardly rational.
A more generous reading of the 90 percent increase in concealed carry permit applications is that now citizens seeking the permits feel comforted by the more thorough training they are required to receive in order to carry a concealed weapon. Or that the increase in gun and ammunition purchases is related to an influx of weapon-related collectors in the state.
It is a bit frightening to think that fear — of an attack, of government gun seizures, of incompetent or absent policing — is driving this statistical swing in gun activity.
