Exclusive: Laws exacerbate firearm instructors shortage

By Elyse Apel
The Center Square

A shortage of firearms instructors is continuing to cause chaos for many Colorado citizens, especially in light of recent gun laws for concealed carry licenses.

This is according to Kirk Evans, an attorney specializing in self-defense law and president of U.S. LawShield, who spoke exclusively with The Center Square.

“There are only about 190 verified renewal course instructors in 63 counties. Several counties do not have a verified instructor,” Evans said. “Due to the new requirements to obtain or renew a concealed handgun permit, a shortage of verified firearms instructors in every county, and verification not being the same in every county, many gun owners and instructors are confused and running into problems.”

With some estimates putting the total number of concealed handgun permit holders in Colorado at 650,000, that means that shortage is having a real impact on citizens in the state.

In Colorado, a concealed handgun permit is required to conceal carry a weapon. To obtain that permit, applicants are required to complete a firearms safety training course from a certified instructor. With the permit only lasting five years, that means approximately 132,500 permit holders need to take the new renewal course every year.

“This means that 190 instructors need to teach almost 700 people per year, on average, but many times that in highly populated counties,” Evans said.

An instructor shortage isn’t the only issue, though. Colorado recently enacted a number of controversial gun laws, some of which are already facing legal challenges. On July 1, one of those new laws took effect and changed the permit requirements to also require a live-fire exercise during the training course.

“Of the 190 instructors, only a fraction of them have gun range privileges,” Evans explained. “Those privileges allow them to conduct the live-fire exercises, which are now required to receive a permit.”

There are many other limiting factors, according to Evans.

“Geography is the biggest hurdle. Several counties have either no verified instructors or a small number of part-time instructors who only teach a few classes every year,” he said. “Range availability is also a difficulty. If your job requires you to work weekends, but the range in your town only offers classes on Saturdays, it doesn’t matter how many instructors there are in the state.”

In Colorado, county sheriffs are responsible for issuing concealed handgun permits. Evans highlighted the discrepancies between counties, which is leading to confusion across the state.

“Sheriff department websites are required to have a list of instructors they have verified to teach residents of their counties, and a recent survey found about 38 counties that are non-compliant. If you live in one of these counties, you have no idea who is qualified to teach you,” he said. “Verification for the new renewal course looks different depending on where you live. For example, in Denver, the instructor can be an instructor recognized in any county. But another county may require the instructor to be verified in that particular county.”

This is already leading to situations where applicants are being forced to retake courses, which can cost upward of $150 to $200.

Evans said this is causing a great burden on the citizens of Colorado.

“All gun owners should have the opportunity to reasonably and efficiently comply with any legal hurdles that might be imposed upon them by their state government,” he said. “It is extremely unfair to place an added burden on gun owners, and then turn that added burden into a complex maze and collection of traps for folks who are simply trying to follow the law.”

Evans said the Colorado legislature needs to take action. He proposed a couple different solutions, including creating a statewide list of verified instructors, adding an extended renewal period for current concealed handgun permit holders or allowing the holders to renew in any county in the state. Those are a few of the steps that could be taken to clarify the process for law-abiding Coloradans.

“In our experience, people who apply for CHPs and renewals are people who want to do the right thing and comply with the law,” Evans explained. “We shouldn’t make it difficult for these gun owners to do that.”