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(courtesy weaponsmart.com)

Coffee with friends you’ve not seen in years is supposed to be a time to catch up and enjoy each other’s company. You talk about your children and major events that have happened over the past few years. One major event for me: joining the TTAG team. The discussion about my “gun life” with friends at a recent Colorado coffee klatch left me a little puzzled. What happened to my native state and my “friends”? Truth be told, most of my Colorado friends . . .

haven’t even heard of this website. A few have, and a few eye rolls ensued when the work came up. “You’ve always been crazy about guns. It’s a little weird. Last I checked, you were still a woman.” Because only men own guns, don’t you know? My friends know this because MSNBC told them so.

The other comments: “I’m not surprised you have a Jeep. You’ve never really cared about climate change.” Yep. There you have it. I don’t care about the weather.

Actually, I do, or I wouldn’t have a Jeep. I need four-wheel drive in gun-haven Alpine, Wyoming. Not to mention that a heavily built Wrangler with a bumper could be life-saver should I happen to hit a moose or an elk – and accidents such as those are not uncommon in Lincoln and Teton counties. As of right now, there are over eight inches of snow on the roads and it’s a whopping 20 degrees. Not that this matters to my liberal and blindered friends.

I wonder when the connection between guns and “climate change” will happen. After this particular meeting I don’t think it will be very long – although, I don’t know how that link will be made since I don’t look for illogical reasons to keep others from being free. Anyway, Colorado has changed since I grew up here.

The influx of Californians to the once gun-loving state has prompted Colorado to pass enough gun laws that they earned a C+ rating from the Brady campaign.While some of the state’s native voters dug their feet in, ousting via recall elections two communist dictator democrats that helped pass the draconian gun laws, more than enough of the women I knew as girls are quick to jump on the “ban guns bandwagon.”

Example: I picked up my phone to show an old friend the home-built addition to my gun collection. I zoomed in on the skeletal hand handguard, you know, because I wanted them to get a good look at it. One lady asked what that “assaulty” (yes, that’s a quote) feature was. I looked again at where she was pointing.  “You mean the ejection port cover?” I asked. “Looks scary,” was her response, followed quickly by “You’d be better off studying climate change than learning the unnecessary parts to assault weapons.” (As we drink steaming hot $7 per cup coffee while it’s 18 degrees outside.)

The image shown to my friends with "assaulty" feature. The ejection port cover. (courtesy Sara Tipton for The Truth About Guns)

Well, I disagree, and it’s not an “assault weapon.” Explaining that view would have been lost on them. Snow kidding.

UPDATE: Ms. Tipton informs us that she was misinformed about the existence of a Colorado non-resident permit. She is writing up her mea culpa which will be published in a new post. Your patience, understanding and expertise are most appreciated.

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63 COMMENTS

  1. Sara, being in Colorado myself, I’m sorry – we’re not all like that…

    but…

    “assaulty.”

    (closing my browser now and taking a walk to try to regain my composure…)

  2. Maybe it has a flag engraved on the inside of the dust cover? What other aspects of a cover are “scary”? Makes no sense to me.

  3. Colorado non-resident concealed carry class? Er, whut?

    To my knowledge, Colorado doesn’t issue non resident permits (and Handgunlaw.us agrees with me, with exceptions for military stationed in Colorado and maybe a business owner who is from out of state). Nor does it recognize other states’ non-resident permits (even for states whose residential permits are recognized).

    • I had a class scheduled to get my permit as I was told you could. Because of these comments, I called the county sheriff’s office here in Colorado and was assured that I cannot get a permit. My next step is canceling my class. My apologies for the mistake. Again, I was told I would be able to get a permit in Colorado.

      • Yet your story says you have already taken the class and were waiting for it to come “in the mail”, quite implying there would be no class left to cancel and you had applied to said Sheriff in person as required by state law.

        In other words.. Ok.. Whatever, Sara.

      • Sara I just have been getting the feeling overall in your articles that you’re portraying Colorado as broadly anti gun.

        I’ve lived here for a while and it really isn’t that way.

        With the recent incidents of other folks grouping Colorado in with states like CA and CT and NY, it’s been too close for comfort. I’ve already had enough difficulty in explaining to out of state FFL that yes I can possess “non CA compliant models” in CO, and the general idea that CO has draconian gun laws — and that isn’t helping.

        There are a lot of gun shops near Boulder and a lot of open outdoor ranges near Boulder. Yes, there are a lot of fruits and nuts too, but really “oh horror – Guns!” just does not happen that often here.

        I think because a number of high profile incidents happened here (Columbine, Aurora) people *assume* we’re reacting how CT did. Not the case. Again, these laws such as the mag ban are toothless and unenforceable. (The CO mag ban isn’t like the NY mag ban. It’s a low level misdemeanor with the burden of proof on the state. You can buy 30 rounders everywhere.)

        I know a FFL who just opened up shop maybe a mile from Columbine High School. There was no mass hysteria, no protests. They get along well with their liberal coffee shop neighbors in the shopping plaza.

        Yeah we have a few bad legislators who are on a power trip. But we also managed to not only pull off a once in 100 years recall due to the gun laws that did pass – but we did it several times over.

        Colorado is not California and does not follow coastal rules. We are not a “slave state”, and really people need to stop portraying it that way.

      • You clearly wrote in this article that you had already taken the class, applied for a non-resident permit and were waiting to receive a certificate in the mail. So, what’s the truth here?

  4. Sounds like your friends suck, and that’s not Colorado’s fault. I’ve lived all over Colorado and there are all kinds of people living here, lots of people that agree with you. Despite the current and probably temporary magazine round limit law, the gun laws in Colorado are pretty reasonable. Unless you’re an extremist.

    • Except for the lack of reciprocity with a good handful of states for silly reasons and no availability of a non-resident permit..

      Oh wait.. Sara’s somehow figured that out. Or she’s making stuff up. I’d be thrilled to learn about the former, but am afraid I’m rightly annoyed that it’s the latter.

  5. Sara.. I have a little problem with the veracity of your story.

    This is the second time you’ve mentioned the Colorado “non-resident” carry permit.

    There is no such thing. Colorado does not offer a non-resident permit. Period. There is no class as you speak of, and certainly no “certificate”.

    Sara – I like your take and your story, but you’re either lying or badly misinformed.

    You’re not helping the cause by spreading misinformation here. Concealed carry is one place where the antis have taken a bite out of our rights in Colorado, and it’s much more restrictive than it needs to be.

    • hmm. She is calling it a non-resident CC. But it is going to her mother’s house. Why? maybe its in Colorado and that is where her license is going to say is her address. I am just assuming as that is the reason it is going there and not to her own house.

      • Oh, so she’s illegally claiming residency in Colorado? Nice.

        No, that’s not it. You need to show proof of residency in the form of a Colorado ID. You need more than an address. She doesn’t know what she’s talking about, which is unfortunate – and it’s making us look silly.

      • Colorado CC permits are not mailed. You have to pick them up during business hours at the county offices after they notify you by phone that it’s ready.

      • Mailed to her mom’s house? Just now? When she says she CCWs all the time back in WY?

        And it can’t be a CO permit of any sort because they aren’t mailed, you pick them up at the county clerk.

        • “And it can’t be a CO permit of any sort because they aren’t mailed, you pick them up at the county clerk.”

          Or at the Sheriff’s office.

          I renew my vehicle registration at the Douglas County Clerk’s office. I picked up my CHP at the Douglas County Sheriff’s office, a couple miles away.

  6. Do appreciate your position here. CO native, but spent maybe half my life outside the state, mostly in more gun friendly places. Right now, alternating between CO and NW MT, where open carry is not that remarkable, but you can’t practice with a handgun at the range in the runnup to hunting season (given how close the targets are, compared to the ones used by those sighting in their hunting rifles). Brother gave me some nice flashlights for Christmas, and couldn’t tell him out loud what I was going to use the little one for (I had just gotten a mount for my 12 gauge), because another brother just freaks out when guns are even mentioned. I couldn’t even leave that shotgun at my father’s house in a locked case – too dangerous.

    And, if you want to see global warming/climate change fanatics, drive south from Loveland on US 287 to Longmont, then SW on the diagonal to the PRB (people’s republic of Boulder). If not Climate Change/Global Warming central in this country, it is close. They have a number of national labs and climate related agencies (NCAR, NOAA, NIST, NREL), along with active programs at CU Boulder. My kid is in an environmental track in grad school there, and has been completely brainwashed. And, I have a cousin, now retired, who spent his career at NOAA there working on climate change issues.

    Luckily my kid spent Christmas with their significant other back on the east coast this year, because my next brother (the one who gave me the flashlights) likes to bring up global warming/climate change on most every family event. He is knowledgeable enough that no one wants to actually debate him. His big deal is the chemistry behind CO2, as compared to H2O, and their respective absorption characteristics. My side of the debate tends to revolve around the reality that humans tend to do best when it is warmer, and worst when it is cooler, and so it is somewhere between silly and stupid to worry about getting too hot.

    • “My side of the debate tends to revolve around the reality that humans tend to do best when it is warmer, and worst when it is cooler, and so it is somewhere between silly and stupid to worry about getting too hot.”

      More importantly, GREEN PLANTS *thrive* in warmer conditions with a higher CO2 level.

      Being that over 90 percent of oxygenating green plant life on this planet lives in the top several meters of seawater, warmer, more acidic (dissolved CO2) oceans means happier ocean algae and phytoplankton.

      What is *proven* catastrophic to life on earth is global cooling.

  7. SteveInCo – Even be “business owner” part is tenuous. I’m a part time resident because yes, I have a business in Colorado but reside in Virginia.

    I tried applying in Elbert county, where I own land, and Jefferson County, where my business is.

    I was rejected for both since I could not prove residency. Jeffco wouldn’t even take the application.

    If that glaring and crucial part of Sara’s story is a fib, I really start to doubt the rest of it “assaulty?”

    Sorry Sara, we need to be honest if we’re going to change anyone’s mind. This is the second “Holiday in Colorado” story where you’ve made up a story about getting a non-resident permit that doesn’t exist.

    If Colorado doesn’t have reciprocity with your home state, and you don’t have a RESIDENT permit in that state, you’re SOL. Utah or something like that won’t help you unless you live in Utah.

    • I knew the business part was unlikely (at best) hence the emphasis on “maybe.”

      But what gets me is if Sara is living in Wyoming already, as she indicates, she can get their permit and it’s good in Colorado.

      • Which is why I unfortunately feel her last two articles don’t add up. But I’ll get off it for now lest someone think I have something personal against Ms. Tipton. I don’t. I just don’t appreciate stuff being fabricated on this site in regards to an issue I take seriously.

        • My apologies, again, please allow me to explain:

          I DO have a certificate in the mail to my mother’s home from a class I took and passed several months ago. I took this class with my father. When I asked for a duplicate certificate, I was going to apply for the permit with it since my other is at home. It was suggested though, that I take the course again to refresh my memory on any new laws. I agreed and immediately after agreeing to have my certificate mailed, I signed up for another class. This is the one I’ve cancelled.

          Please forgive me. I did not explain myself well and I was misled to believe I could get the permit. I am blaming no one but myself, as I did not verify with the sheriff’s department and I should have. Thank you to you all for letting me know.

  8. Not a lot of life long friends or relatives either know about my shooting hobby. The ones that talk about their recent acquisition to their collection I will engage in a discussion but that’s about it. My husband and I have a few gun toting Liberal friends, we don’t talk politics, we’ll discuss ammo choices, calibers, holsters etc. At my age, if you haven’t “got” it, not my place to try to convince you and frankly, way too aggravating!

  9. I find guns lacking iron sites to be scary. What happens if your scope goes down?

    Also sorry to hear about the Californication of Colorado. Sara, I hope you can get some of those gals to go shooting sometime. The fun of shooting tends to open people up.

    • What happens when the backup sights go down?

      Relax dood. It’s just a scope on a rifle. Many of us have many rifles, most of which are ARs, with a metric ton of optic/sights combinations. Some have just scopes or Aimpoints. Some just have iron sights or flip sights. While even others have optics with backups. The majority of mine have just an Aimpoint or a scope, because I’ve never needed the backups, not even when Uncle Sam had me pulling the trigger. We can whatifittodeath. If it was a crappy optic, and I my life depended on that SINGLE rifle, then yeah, backup sights too. Sorry you are scared.

  10. The next time Ms. Crunchy-Granola gets on your case you should remind her that, solely in terms of the relative energy input required to make the car and the estimated emissions cost of that energy, that she has to put 50,000 miles on her Prius before she reaches the break-even point relative to your Wrangler. Up to that point the Wrangler is still better from an emissions standpoint due to the reduced energy required to produce it. And that doesn’t take into account the fact that the batteries use rare earth metals that are primarily produced in China (poor environmental oversight) via strip mining methods, resulting in some of the worst ecological damage in human history. Or that heavy industry like battery production has lead to smog and other pollution leading to an average of about 5 years reduced lifespan for people living in cities like Beijing and Shanghai.

    Or perhaps she would be interested to know how much pollution was caused by those fresh organic strawberries she insists on putting on her quinoa cereal while there’s a foot of snow on the ground? Or the quinoa for that matter?

    Sounds like you need some new friends.

  11. This was the biggest time wasting story. It was like the clickbait, non-news, from Yahoo.
    “I have friends who don’t like guns in Colorado. Climate-Change? I lied about a carry permit in the mail.”

  12. You have to take the high ground and know what you are talking about in terms of geochemical cycles and earth systems. Do your BEST not to alienate people who start off with an emotional reaction to this stuff. I’m finishing a degree in geology in Laramie, I just built a new AR with MEGA parts and picked up a PPQm2, I have a lifted yota with big AT tires + winch, and….. I’m a liberal SOB on a lot of issues… There are a lot of democrat gun owners who fight the good fight against the group-think on climate change and firearms FROM THE INSIDE.

    Railing against democrats as being communist pot smokers (Hickock45 pun) is hurting the thing we agree on, personal freedom to own firearms. Lets try to BE NICE while we disagree, present sound evidence and question/point out logic flaws coming from the anti specific civil rights crowd (appeals to emotion, authority, apples to oranges comps, straw man, etc, ad n).

  13. Sounds like the list of friends needs to be updated. The current ones don’t seem to have any problem with what amounts to hurling insults at you.

  14. All your answers should have been:
    If I paint it pink and put glitter and Hello Kitty stickers on it, would it be less assaulty looking?

    I’m with the folks that think you should limit your interaction with these folks.

  15. I don’t know why Sara would bother with a permit from Colorado since the state honors Wyoming permits.

    According to the HandgunLaw web site, it may be possible for a non-resident who owns property or a business in Colorado to obtain a Colorado permit. The success of an application will depend on the sheriff.

    When challenged about her Jeep, I suggest that Sara ask for a recommendation for an alternative. Very likely, it will be a Prius. She can then ask how well the recommended vehicle does in 8 inches of snow and whether its occupants could survive a collision with a moose.

  16. “Not to mention that a heavily built Wrangler with a bumper could be life-saver should I happen to hit a moose or an elk”

    Sara, I’ve got say that the bumper is not going to help much if you hit a elk and it won’t mater if ya’ hit a moose. A moose is like a bovine with the legs of a horse.

    Had a experience seeing a moose ‘up close’ it was maybe 20 feet in front of my dad’s
    Ford F-150 and that’s not a sort in height truck. If you hit that moose with the 150 any speed, it (the moose) would have gone over the hood and though the windshield.

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