Going to Colorado

[SMOOTHboar]

I am going o CO for a week with my family. I have applied for a CHL but have not yet received in the mail. My luck it arrives the day after we depart. None the less. We will be traveling overland. I would preferr to carry but at the least I would like to have one in the car close at hand. We will also cross into New Mexico.

What do I need to be aware of? Thank you in advance for your help.

[denwego]

I lived in Colorado for three years recently, so here's the skinny:

- Concealed carry in your car is legal with no permit everywhere in the state, including Denver. The only exception is school and courthouse property.
- Open carry with no permit is allowed (in car or on foot) in every jurisdiction EXCEPT DENVER. Denver has a weird legal standing due to a state supreme court case from 2005, which allows them to prohibit open carry without needing to post signs. You're good to openly carry in all other cities/counties unless there are signs prohibiting it (also, there is no statutory requirement for signs; "no guns" is good enough for this.)
- No magazine capacity restrictions or other AWB-style garbage.

*Edit* - If you do get your CHL in time to use it, you're free to carry concealed in Denver... they only get their weird pass for open carry. Concealed carry is allowed everywhere in the state except schools, courthouses, and public buildings with security posted at every entrance. "No guns" signs have no legal standing for concealed carry on public property, much like in Texas.

Enjoy your trip through!

[Oldgringo]

http://www.handgunlaw.us/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; should tell you about all you need to know.

Be safe and enjoy.

[SMOOTHboar]

Awsome info. Thanks for the in put. I will not carry open in Colorado. I am just going to do what I have done every other time I have traveled. Keep one on my person concealed and play the odds that nothing will go sideways.

[RMD]

Awsome info. Thanks for the in put. I will not carry open in Colorado. I am just going to do what I have done every other time I have traveled. Keep one on my person concealed and play the odds that nothing will go sideways.

New guy here. Grew up in DFW area, but have lived in Colorado for the last 12 years. Heading back to visit friends and family for the first time since getting CHP and found this site whilst preparing for the trip. Great site!

denwego gave you some good info. With your permit, you're good to go except for the big 3:

• Where prohibited by federal law
  Inside a public K-12 school building
  Inside a public building where everyone goes through metal detectors & they provide storage

Without a permit - you're OK in your car (visible, concealed, loaded, whatever). And since you're not OCing, I guess you don't have to worry about the mix of local ordinances :)

Great weather right now. Hope you have a safe and fun trip.

[SMOOTHboar]

Colorado was great. Actually had a situation in Texas. Carrying MPA. The cop was a local and was not very nice about the fact that I was carrying in my car without a CHL. He wrote me a ticket for speeding and kept me there for about 45min.

[Liberty]

How did he know you carrying?

[denwego]

Colorado was great. Actually had a situation in Texas. Carrying MPA. The cop was a local and was not very nice about the fact that I was carrying in my car without a CHL. He wrote me a ticket for speeding and kept me there for about 45min.

I read about that in the other thread... you handled it much more gracefully than I probably would have. I'm glad that Colorado was good, though; I can't wait to go back myself to visit. Did you try openly carrying at all, or stick to concealed in the car?

[blackdog8200]

Open carry is NOT ok everywhere besides Denver.... Local communities can restrict it so Know Before You OC.

With your CHL it is very easy to carry concealed since bars and restaurants are OK just don't drink :)

[denwego]

Open carry is NOT ok everywhere besides Denver.... Local communities can restrict it so Know Before You OC.

With your CHL it is very easy to carry concealed since bars and restaurants are OK just don't drink :)

It is OK everywhere else. I lived there from 2005-2009, in Boulder, easily the most liberal part of the state, and a city with a ban on OC on the books. I openly carried in front of cops, at shopping malls, and across the street from the high school (which is where the city's only gun store is located). Several cops told me they didn't like it, but they knew the law. It is what it is.