Colorado Takes Up Constitutional Carry: Here’s Why It Deserves to Pass

There’s an assumption baked into Colorado law that most people don’t even question anymore: that carrying a firearm for self-defense requires permission from the government. A permit, a fee,  fingerprints, a legal process, a training regimen developed by lawmakers who have never touched a gun. It doesn’t matter if you’re prohibited, it only matters that the state hasn’t said yes yet.

That’s why constitutional carry is a conversation that needs to be had at the State Capitol in Denver every single year, regardless of whether anyone believes it will pass into law.

The principle of constitutional carry itself is simple. If you can legally own a firearm, you can carry it. No extra permission slip required. It doesn’t change who is prohibited, it doesn’t require anything from the state, and it doesn’t create anything new. It just removes the layer that turns a right into a licensed activity.

And the majority of the country has already moved that direction.

As of 2026, 29 states have adopted some form of constitutional carry; nearly 60% of the country. That means the majority of states have decided that lawful citizens don’t need government permission to carry for self-defense.

And the trend is not slowing down.

Just recently, West Virginia expanded its constitutional carry law, passing legislation to allow 18–20 year olds to carry concealed without a permit, eliminating the old requirement that they obtain a provisional license first, extending it to all legal adults.

Colorado is far from making that shift, which is why this conversation keeps coming back. And it needs to. I hope this bill is resurrected every year for eternity. 

On Tuesday, April 7, HB26-1212 — Constitutional Carry of a Handgun will be heard in a public House Judiciary committee hearing at 1:30pm at the Colorado State Capitol. The bill follows the same model seen across the country: law-abiding adults can carry without a permit. Simple as that.

The outcome, realistically, is not in doubt. Bills like this are run every session and, in Colorado anyway, they always meet the same fate: killed in committee on party lines. We fully expect that to happen with this bill too.

But the hearing still matters. It forces the real question into the public eye and onto the debate stage among lawmakers: should a constitutional right require government permission to exercise?

Committee hearings are one of the few places where regular people can put their position directly into that conversation. You can show up in person at the Capitol or sign up to testify remotely. You’ll get a 2-3 minutes to speak, which is more than enough to say who you are, why it matters, and where you stand. Find more info on how to testify in committees here.

Let’s keep speaking up and making the case for why Colorado should be added to the list of states protecting the right to keep and bear arms by passing constitutional carry. We must never back down from defending our rights.

Track this bill and other Colorado gun related bills on our Legislative Watch page.