{"id":43035,"date":"2021-12-27T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-12-27T19:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/what-impact-could-a-supreme-court-ruling-have-on-colorado-gun-laws\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T03:11:14","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T09:11:14","slug":"what-impact-could-a-supreme-court-ruling-have-on-colorado-gun-laws","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/what-impact-could-a-supreme-court-ruling-have-on-colorado-gun-laws\/","title":{"rendered":"What impact could a Supreme Court ruling have on Colorado gun laws?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"J.J.
J.J. Rouanzoin, owner of Colorado Gunfighter, demonstrates a simulation Dec. 1 at his store in Bodo Industrial Park that helps train people in handgun self-defense. Such courses are required for obtaining concealed carry permits in Colorado. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

A decision expected next year by the U.S. Supreme Court on a New York state law restricting who can carry a weapon, concealed or not, in public could reshape how some states enforce concealed carry laws and permitting processes.<\/p>\n

The case, New York State Rifle & Pistol Association Inc. v. Bruen, is a review of New York law that denies law-abiding citizens permission to carry a firearm unless they can demonstrate sufficient cause, which is determined by the state.<\/p>\n

The New York law is restrictive compared with many other states\u2019 laws on open and concealed firearm carrying, such as Colorado\u2019s laws.<\/p>\n

Cody Wisniewski, director of the Lakewood based Mountain States Legal Foundation\u2019s Center to Keep and Bear Arms, served as counsel of record to the Supreme Court case.<\/p>\n

Wisniewski said he thinks it is fairly unlikely the Supreme Court will rule in favor of New York. Even if it did, it wouldn\u2019t immediately affect Colorado\u2019s laws.<\/p>\n

\u201cEssentially, the Supreme Court is looking at New York\u2019s carry license system,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

New York is a \u201cmay issue\u201d state, which means the state has discretion in selecting who receives concealed carry permits, he said.<\/p>\n

Colorado, by contrast, is a \u201cshall issue\u201d state.<\/p>\n

\"Amanda
Amanda Lovelace, with Colorado Gunfighter in Bodo Industrial Park, holds one of the more popular handguns purchased for concealed carry use. Colorado is a \u201cshall issue\u201d state \u2013 if trained residents meet the legal requirements to possess a firearm, they will be granted a concealed carry permit. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201c\u2019Shall issue\u2019 states basically say that as long as you meet the legal requirements established by the state, the licensing official shall issue a concealed carry permit,\u201d Wisniewski said.<\/p>\n

Colorado is also an \u201copen carry\u201d state with no restrictions on carrying a firearm visible in public as long as the person carrying the gun is not prohibited from owning or possessing firearms. Colorado\u2019s concealed carry permitting process is also fairly straightforward, La Plata County Sheriff Sean Smith said.<\/p>\n

How to obtain a concealed carry permit in Colorado<\/div>\n

In Colorado, one must receive a training certificate from an approved concealed carry instructor, submit that certificate to the county sheriff for approval and pass a background check. The background check examines criminal records and residential history, Smith said.<\/p>\n

State laws prohibit people from possessing a firearm if they have been convicted of a felony, are on probation or are under a court order, such as an extreme risk protection order.<\/p>\n

Those circumstances also can prevent someone from obtaining or renewing a concealed carry permit. If someone has two substance abuse convictions within the past 10 years, the sheriff can deny a permit.<\/p>\n

\"Justin
Justin Ping, with Colorado Gunfighter in Bodo Industrial Park, shows the gun he uses with a conceal carry permit. A U.S. Supreme Court ruling expected next year could affect how some states regulate concealed carry permit issuance. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Schools and businesses can place their own prohibitions on open or concealed firearms on their premises, and that is one area where the Supreme Court\u2019s ruling could have an impact, Smith said.<\/p>\n

Wisniewski isn\u2019t convinced that Colorado law regarding concealed carry permits would be affected if the Supreme Court ruled in favor of New York.<\/p>\n

How a ruling in favor of New York\u2019s more restrictive permits would play out<\/div>\n

A ruling in favor of New York wouldn\u2019t have a direct impact on \u201cshall issue\u201d states such as Colorado unless the state was already seeking to change from a \u201cshall issue\u201d state to a \u201cmay issue\u201d state.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf the Supreme Court upheld New York\u2019s law, then Colorado could look to the New York model,\u201d Wisniewski said.<\/p>\n

He said that outcome is unlikely even in the event New York\u2019s laws are upheld by the Supreme Court, but potentially, it could happen in Colorado and other states.<\/p>\n

Wisniewski said New York\u2019s model is problematic, not because the state has the right to regulate concealed carry \u2013 Colorado has and practices that right, he pointed out \u2013 but because New York\u2019s model carries a \u201cdiscretionary element.\u201d<\/p>\n

In New York, a state officer can decide who gets issued a concealed carry permit and who does not based on an individual\u2019s demonstrated need for the permit. Advocates for less-restrictive gun control argue that model is in violation of the Second Amendment.<\/p>\n

Wisniewski said New York\u2019s law allows for levels of corruption at the state level, and people who should be able to exercise their right of self-defense in public end up prevented from doing so \u201cbecause of the decision of a single licensing officer.\u201d<\/p>\n

He suspects that many \u201cshall issue\u201d states will remain such to avoid that \u201cdiscretionary element\u201d even if New York came out on top in this particular case.<\/p>\n

The core issue, Wisniewski said, is that the level of discretion in New York\u2019s model regarding concealed carry permits is not how other constitutionally protected rights are treated.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo one would ever say that in order to speak in public you could leave it up to the discretion of a single individual that\u2019s an officer of \u2018X\u2019 state,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n