COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- The outlaws came to town. The citizenry elected a new sheriff. Now, the sheriff is helping the citizenry arm for gun battles.
In a move reminiscent of the Old West, the new sheriff of El Paso County last week lifted nearly all restrictions on permits for concealed weapons.
More than 1,000 people have applied for permits since Wednesday.
"We're just overwhelmed with the response," said Sgt. Dean Kelsey, a deputy sheriff. "It's sad and unfortunate that, as we supposedly go forward with society, this is what we've come to."
Said Georgia Devorss, as she sat in the lobby of the sheriff's office completing her application Friday: "It really does seem like a cowboy movie, but I'll feel safer, that's for sure."
One model for the new program: Florida's more restrictive, but still relatively liberal, policy on concealed weapons.
"Florida has had very few revocations -- people who get permits and turn around and commit a crime," Sergeant Kelsey said. "We saw that the system is pretty well managed down there. We hope we have a similar experience here."
Under the new program, applicants need only live in El Paso County, be at least 25 years old, pay $85 and have no felony convictions or history of mental instability.
They are not required to demonstrate a need for a concealed weapon or proficiency with firearms or familiarity with safety procedures.
Floridians who apply for concealed weapons permits must be at least 21 and have no felony convictions. They also must attend a certified gun familiarity course or provide proof of an honorable military discharge.
In Colorado, a state that still allows residents to wear pistols and holsters in public view, each county sheriff decides how to dispense concealed weapons permits.
The previous sheriff of El Paso County, defeated for re-election -- last year, required applicants to prove that their lives had been threatened. That strict policy yielded just several dozen permits during Sheriff Bernard Barry's 12-year term.
But during the election, candidate John Anderson promised to ease the restrictions. He took office 45 days ago. His policy is believed to be the most lenient in Colorado and one of the most lenient in the country.
Federal statistics show a decline in per-capita crime here, but TC the volume of crimes has increased as has the relative brutality, according to local authorities.
New gangs moved into the area recently, Sergeant Kelsey said, and they have been using firearms with abandon.
"We feel there is no reason why a law-abiding citizen should not have the same opportunity as a criminal to arm himself," he said. "If the criminal element knows that more people in the community are carrying weapons, that element might not be so hasty to commit a crime."
Not everyone agrees.
Colorado Springs Police Chief Lorne Kramer is not happy. The city's 300,000 residents comprise the vast majority of the county's population and are subject to the new policy.
"Introducing more guns into a society that already has too much gun violence isn't in the best interests of the public," Chief Kramer told the Colorado Springs Gazette Telegraph last week.
Estimates of the number of times a year that guns protect Americans vary widely -- ranging from 80,000 to 2 million, depending on who is conducting the survey.
Looking at related matters, a report published in 1993 by the New England Journal of Medicine found that having a gun at home nearly triples the chance that a family dispute will result in a killing. It also found that the victim usually is a relative or friend and that a gun is statistically insignificant in deterring intruders.
But in the shadow of Pikes Peak, the local citizenry lines up for applications. More than 300 have been returned to the county.
Issuance of the permits will begin in about three weeks, authorities said. Sales of firearms is likely to start rising soon, said Sandy Schupper, owner of one of the biggest gun stores in town.