Last updated September 2026 · By Nick Hall, who has driven through more permit-patchwork states than he would like to count
Quick take: The NRA and the Colorado State Shooting Association sued Denver on 31 August. The claim is not that one rule is unconstitutional. It is that two lawful-looking rules stack into a total ban: Colorado will not issue a nonresident permit, Denver forbids open carry, and a visitor is left with no legal way to carry a handgun anywhere in the city.
- The case: Howeth v. City and County of Denver, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado.
- Who is suing: The NRA, the Colorado State Shooting Association, and two individual members, Greg Howeth of Hawaii and Zackary Dougherty of South Carolina.
- The concealed side: Colorado does not issue permits to nonresidents, and recognises another state’s permit only when that state reciprocates with Colorado.
- The open side: Denver bans open carry outright, which closes the only door the concealed rules left ajar.
Each half of this has a defender. Together they produce a result that nobody in the Colorado legislature or the Denver council ever had to vote for, which is how most carry problems actually get made.
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Table of Contents
The Two Rules
Colorado issues concealed handgun permits to Colorado residents. A nonresident cannot apply. The state will honour a permit from another state, but only if that state honours Colorado’s permits in return.
That reciprocity condition is where a lot of visitors fall out. Hawaii does not reciprocate with Colorado. Neither does Utah in the direction that would help here. So a man holding two valid carry licences arrives in Denver holding nothing that works.
Denver then bans open carry within the city. In a state where open carry is otherwise broadly lawful, the city is a hole in the map.
Greg Howeth
Howeth is the lead plaintiff and his facts are the reason this case is worth watching rather than just reading about.
He holds carry permits from Hawaii and Utah. He has a second home in Weld County, north of Denver, and he flies in regularly. He has the training and a clean record. He applied and was turned down, because he does not have a Colorado driver’s licence. The NRA announcement of the filing sets out the rest of the facts.
So he is not a man trying to find a loophole. He is a man with two permits, a house in the state and no criminal history who cannot lawfully carry a handgun in Denver by any route available to him.
Why the Combination Matters Legally
Courts have been fairly clear since Bruen that a jurisdiction cannot simply ban public carry. What it can do is regulate the manner of carry, which in practice means requiring a permit and channelling everyone into concealed carry.
That reasoning only holds if the permit is actually available. When one rule says you may not carry openly and another says you may not have the permit that would let you carry concealed, the manner regulation has quietly become a prohibition.
The complaint leans on the point that the Second Amendment means the same thing in every part of the country, and that a carry ban does not become constitutional because it was assembled from two pieces instead of one.
This Is Not Only a Denver Problem
The reciprocity trap catches people all over the country and it catches them quietly, because nothing announces itself. Your permit works for six hundred miles and then it does not.
The version that bites hardest is exactly Howeth’s: a resident of a state whose permits few others recognise, travelling to a state that will not issue to nonresidents. Hawaii and New Jersey residents run into this constantly. So do Californians.
Our concealed carry reciprocity map is the place to check before you drive, and the Colorado gun laws guide covers the rest of the state’s rules.
What to Expect
This is a fresh filing, so there is no ruling to react to. The next real milestone is a motion for preliminary injunction and the hearing that follows.
The city’s most likely defence is that Howeth has an available path, because he could establish Colorado residency, and that the Second Amendment does not guarantee a particular procedural route. Whether that survives contact with a judge is the question.
For now, if you are visiting Denver, assume you cannot carry. That is the practical position regardless of what a court says in eighteen months.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a visitor legally carry a handgun in Denver right now?
In most cases, no. Colorado does not issue permits to nonresidents and only recognises out-of-state permits where that state reciprocates, and Denver separately bans open carry. A visitor whose home state lacks reciprocity with Colorado has no lawful carry option in the city.
What case is this?
Howeth v. City and County of Denver, filed on 31 August 2026 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado by the NRA, the Colorado State Shooting Association and two individual members.
Does Colorado issue nonresident carry permits?
No. Colorado issues concealed handgun permits to residents only, and recognises another state's permit only when that state recognises Colorado permits in return.
Is open carry legal elsewhere in Colorado?
Open carry is broadly lawful in much of Colorado, but Denver bans it within the city. That municipal ban is one half of what the lawsuit is challenging.
What happens next in the case?
The suit was only just filed, so the next step is likely a motion for a preliminary injunction. Nothing changes for visitors until a court rules.
Related Reading
- Concealed carry reciprocity, state by state
- Colorado gun laws explained
- Carrying a gun when you travel
- Concealed carry versus open carry
- How to get a concealed carry permit
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