Concealed carry permit applications soar

Applying for a concealed carry permit? It could take you awhile.

The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office said Friday it could take at least a week, that’s if you have completed a training class. But that has a wait, too.

Ava Lanell teaches a variety of courses at Elite Firearms Training in Colorado Springs.

Some of which you have to take before applying for the permit.

“I do have all-women classes,” she said. “But I get a lot of guys who are beginners who have never shot before in their life.”

But if you want to take her class, it could take weeks to get in.

“I still have some availability in my classes, but I’m pretty much booked until mid-February,” she said.

It’s a backlog she hasn’t encountered in the three years she’s owned the company.

“For the most part everyone has said it’s because of everything happening in the world,” she said.

The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office said they’ve noticed a rise in applications for permits, too.

“We experienced a pretty some pretty historic events here in El Paso County, starting with the Halloween shooting and the suspect being shot by police officers,” said Jacqueline Kirby with EPSO. “Then fast forward to the Planned Parenthood shooting.”

Some 204 people applied for a permit with the Sheriff’s Office last week alone.

The increase began in 2012, when 22,000 permit applications were filed.

This year to date, more than 37,000 applications have been filed with authorities.

In Pueblo County, the office said their application rates have remained about the same since last year, at about 1,000.

“It was busy this time last year but it has been, at this point, it’s almost difficult to keep up,” Lanell said.