New to Colorado, have a few questions.

Dynamite Rabbit said:

Don't want to run the thread off the tracks, but arguing that the slightest amount of BAC = intoxicated is like saying open carry = disorderly conduct.

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No, that's apples and oranges.

Apple: By law, when it comes to intoxication and firearms, the limit is not defined. This leaves it up to the judge.

Orange: By law, when it comes to open carry here in Colorado, it is NOT disorderly conduct, and no judge here in this state has the authority to rule otherwise.

A judge could certainly make those rulings, but I have a hard time believing they'd stand on appeal.

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True, judges can, and have ruled, ridiculously at times, and no, it wouldn't stand on appeal. There are a few nuts in the judiciary, as there are throughout any profession, but most of them are rational..

Most OCers would probably say that drinking and open carrying presents a bad image to the public, and I'd agree. I just don't see the law saying you can't.

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I agree with you on both acconts, and the law doesn't prohibit you from OCing in a bar and having a beer. Given the state of affairs, where the anti's are looking for any and all justification to turn the screws tighter, however, I don't think that would be a rational thing to do.

I have no problem having a bear or two at home, however, though if I had more than one I'd only handle my firearm if an actual situation arose (someone kicked down my door).

"I have no problem having a bear or two at home, however, though if I had more than one I'd only handle my firearm if an actual situation arose (someone kicked down my door). "

Thank you Since9. You are always a powerful voice of reason around here.

I know you guys out there like to drink. I'm a guy and have friends and family- we drink. I get it. The choice I have always ALWAYS presented myself with, from the beginning, was "Do I want to drink or am I going out later I will need my gun..." You just have to decide between going out; leaving your property.... or staying home. If you really want to kick back a beer or 2 at 3 in the afternoon.. You can't expect to walk out that door at 4 strapped with your loaded handgun. Wait a few hours- Science has literally figured this out already. You can calculate your BAC with your body weight and the amount of drink and what type of drink that is. You can actually figure out if you have 1 beer and wait 1 hour and drank 2 glasses of water in the mean time.. you will be sober enough to carry your handgun and drive a car. If you drank 2 beers and had a hot dog and some fries.. waited an hour.. well you have to do the math for yourself but you probably should wait Longer before driving or carrying a handgun.

This is a great situation, like many others, to compare driving a motor vehicle to carrying a gun. Either way- you can end a life easily if you are not careful. Most of us decide not to drink and drive, period. This goes above and beyond just not driving drunk- we are saying we just won't drink at all if we are going to drive. Usually people who get their first DUI and learn their lesson decide to go this route. Same with firearms.. make that decision inside of you- in your heart of hearts. You can control it. You can control yourself. Decide to choose between drinking or carrying your loaded handgun. Remember- you can always have those few beers Later in the evening when you're in for the night.

since9 said:

I have no problem having a bear or two at home, however, though if I had more than one I'd only handle my firearm if an actual situation arose (someone kicked down my door).

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This took me a while to catch up on the topic. I was just paging through and thought, "Someone has more than one frickin' BEAR at home and is not only OKAY with it, but are we back to testosterone junkie cowboys talking about taking on a frickin' BEAR with a handgun AGAIN???"

mahkagari said:

This took me a while to catch up on the topic. I was just paging through and thought, "Someone has more than one frickin' BEAR at home and is not only OKAY with it, but are we back to testosterone junkie cowboys talking about taking on a frickin' BEAR with a handgun AGAIN???"

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HEY!!!! What they do with their furry creatures in their own home is their business.

Kingfish said:

HEY!!!! What they do with their furry creatures in their own home is their business.

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Oh, it's THAT kind of bear! Got it. Wait, no. Now, I'm even more confused...

Affirmative right in CO?

I've purused section 18 of the Colorado code and read the Colorado Gun Rights brochure, but I do not find a statute that positively affirms the right to possess and carry a firearm. For example, the Code of the State of Alabama states, "That every citizen has a right to bear arms in defense of himself and the state." - Article 1, Section 26
Does Colorado code have a similar passage?

The Colorado Constitution, Article II, Section 13:


The right of no person to keep and bear arms in defense of his home, person and property, or in aid of the civil power when thereto legally summoned, shall be called in question; but nothing herein contained shall be construed to justify the practice of carrying concealed weapons.

Dynamite Rabbit said:

The Colorado Constitution, Article II, Section 13:


The right of no person to keep and bear arms in defense of his home, person and property, or in aid of the civil power when thereto legally summoned, shall be called in question; but nothing herein contained shall be construed to justify the practice of carrying concealed weapons.

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Perfect. Thank you Rabbit.

I spent July 10-17 in the Leadville/Buena Vista area and saw no one openly carrying a firearm, not in town and not even on the trail. I OC'd on the trail and CC'd in town. The folks I met on the trail (Mt. Columbia and La Plata Peak) were not alarmed at all about the presence of the hogleg. Some wanted to talk about the weather, some about the trail, and a few made mention of the weapon. I remain surprised that there was nobody but a "foreigner" from Alabama OCing.

That is disappointing Ruger, but there are more and more of us everyday. Right now, I think that pretty much every open carrier in Colorado is on this forum. I live in El Paso county and I've only seen one other guy open carrying outside of an OC meet and he was at the Co-op in my town. We are here, but it seems that we're not as adamant about it as people in other states... could be our downfall, but yeah. I OC everywhere I go, mainly because I don't have my permit yet (broke). Anyway, I hope you enjoyed your stay and that you'll be back.

I've literally never seen another open carrier in public, ever. Your experience is likely.

Dynamite Rabbit said:

cscitney87 wrote:


I disagree with this -- the law specifies that you cannot possess a firearm while intoxicated. There is no definition in the law of "intoxicated", and there doesn't seem to be case law. I don't believe that anyone would consider one beer to be intoxicating. It seems reasonable to believe that the .04/.08 BAC DWI/DUI limits would be applicable.

As entartet said, you can't carry on school property (with a CCW permit you can have a gun in a compartment in your locked vehicle). WIth no permit, federal law applies and you can't carry within 1000 feet (there doesn't seem to be any local enforcement, though).

18-12-105 only applies to the state legislature -- it was passed in response to a shooting inside the capitol building.

You can't carry a loaded firearm on public transportation (unless you have a CCW permit).

You may want to read some older threads in the Colorado section about municipalities claiming the authority to prohibit open carry. I'm not going to get into that debate again.

edit: You asked about disorderly conduct -- there doesn't seem to be application of this charge against open carriers, not that it's never happened.

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Do you honestly want to go to court if you have to shoot someone after have drank even just one beer? I guarantee you, you will LOSE.

DO NOT DRINK AND CARRY. It's as simple as that. Not just from a legal standpoint, but from a common sense standpoint. If you know you're going to have a few, leave the gun at home, or keep a lock box for it in your car or something.

Ian said:

Do you honestly want to go to court if you have to shoot someone after have drank even just one beer? I guarantee you, you will LOSE.

DO NOT DRINK AND CARRY. It's as simple as that. Not just from a legal standpoint, but from a common sense standpoint. If you know you're going to have a few, leave the gun at home, or keep a lock box for it in your car or something.

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You quoted Me as saying something. I never said that. You messed up the quote.

Ian said:

Do you honestly want to go to court if you have to shoot someone after have drank even just one beer? I guarantee you, you will LOSE.

DO NOT DRINK AND CARRY. It's as simple as that. Not just from a legal standpoint, but from a common sense standpoint. If you know you're going to have a few, leave the gun at home, or keep a lock box for it in your car or something.

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CScitney's right -- I said that, not him.

I tend to approach things from a libertarian point of view -- I think it's up to the individual to decide what he's comfortable with. I don't generally drink when I'm carrying, but I also wouldn't hesitate to have one beer, either (I have faith that no jury would see one beer as "intoxicating").

You certainly could be right -- it may not help if you ever have a problem, but we all make lots of choices every day that "could" cause us problems. Heck, if you don't carry a gun there's no possible chance of being in court for shooting someone. That's a choice we make.