Concealed Handgun Permits Soar in Colorado, Criminals Tell Sheriff that they avoid places with "very high concealed-carry" rates

While the Rocky Mountain News reports on March 11th regarding the increase for the entire state, this particular discussion caught my attention:

Maketa said applications rose 87 percent in his county, and most of those were for new permits rather than renewals. He said spikes in applications happened directly after high profile shootings like the Utah mall shooting, the Virginia Tech massacre and the New Life Church gun battle — all happened in 2007.

Maketa said he's not concerned about the county's growing number of legally armed people. In fact, he said he believes law-abiding citizens make the region safer by getting the permits.

"Actually, I wish it was a higher number, because I know from experience that offenders in the jail system tell me they avoid crimes against people because they know there is a very high concealed-carry rate," Maketa said. . . .