Of the 67,000 concealed handgun permits issued in the state between 2005 and 2009, only 55 percent were entered into a Colorado Bureau of Investigation database meant to track them. The reason appears to be that some sheriffs who issue the permits are unwilling to enter the information, reports The Pueblo Chieftain. Their resistance is causing a significant security lapse, say the auditors who released the data Tuesday. Moreover, the information that does exist is rife with inaccuracies or inconsistencies: 63 percent of records are problematic, calling into question whether some handgun permits are valid.

“This problem is significant,” state auditors write, noting that 68 percent of law-enforcement officers tend to act on their initial findings when they check the database. Dubious data about a permit holder could result in the wrongful arrest of a valid permit holder or lead officers to release someone concealing a handgun illegally.

Meanwhile, a former Colorado resident who apparently legally bought handguns here and took them to New Jersey has been sent to prison for seven years. His crime: possessing two unloaded handguns and not knowing how handgun laws differ between the states, notes Fox News.