Our View - Wednesday

Hidden guns 
Sheriff wants more concealed carry 
  
El Paso County Sheriff Terry Maketa wants more guns - not for his deputies, but for citizens. "Offenders in the jail system tell me they avoid crimes against people because they know there is a very high concealed-carry rate," Maketa told The Gazette. 
  
But it's not high enough, and Maketa said he wishes more citizens would train to carry concealed and apply for permits. El Paso County has the highest number of concealed carry permits in the state, at 8,400 - a statistic that makes public safety advocates proud. But El Paso County also has a higher population than any other county in the state. 
  
For every 1,000 people living in El Paso County, about 14 have permits to carry concealed weapons. The number is low enough that in small crowds - in places like movie theaters and average-sized churches - it's possible nobody has a lawfully concealed weapon with which to provide protection in the event of an attack. Although El Paso County has the highest overall number of permits, at least one county has us beat by a country mile in the number of permits issued per resident. 
  
The winner in permits per capita - the statistic that matters most - is Hinsdale County. The permits issued in 2007 alone equaled nearly 54 permits per 1,000 residents. Outstanding, Hinsdale. It's obvious why so many residents in Hinsdale County assume responsibility for the safety of themselves and others. It's the most remote county in Colorado, and one of the most isolated regions of the United States. The Discovery Channel revealed Hinsdale County as one of the few places in the country with almost no roads. 
  
People in Hinsdale County have no delusional expectations that police will race to the scene and save them from animal or criminal attacks. The false sense of security provided by 911 isn't in play out there. 
  
Unfortunately, the urban residents of El Paso County have little more third-party protection than the folks in Hinsdale County have. They just think they do. On a good day, police can arrive on the scene of a crime in eight minutes - about seven minutes and 55 seconds too late to save lives from a rampage killer. 
  
If you're a responsible, law-abiding citizen, give Sheriff Maketa his wish. Get trained, get licensed, and carry concealed. Make El Paso County a criminal's least-favorite place. 
  

Tax credits for film 
  
It's unseemly when the billionaire owners of sports teams ask taxpayers to pay for their stadiums, threatening to pack up and leave if they don't get their way. Taxpayers should not subsidize the highly profitable ventures of private enterprise. 
  
Therefore, at first glance a bill that would offer tax credits to film producers who make their movies in Colorado seems like a bad idea. It looks like another welfare program for billionaires. Fortunately, it's not. 
  
State Reps. Tom Massey, R-Poncha Springs, and Cheri Jahn, D-Wheat Ridge, introduced a bill Tuesday that would create a $25 million tax credit program to help bring film and video productions to Colorado. 
  
Unfortunately, 40 other states offer incentives that offset the costs of film production. When producers and directors shop around for locations, the financial enticements are a major consideration. Even when the setting is Colorado, producers tend to opt for other locations where they can take advantage of programs that offset their costs. When Hollywood produced "Catch and Release," with a plot entirely about Boulder, nearly all the footage was taken in Canada - where the financial incentives were good. Same problem with last year's "Resurrecting the Champ," and the Eddie Murphy film "NowhereLand," set for release in the fall. 
  
When a movie producer skips over Colorado, trying to make some other place look like our state, the local economy loses out. During 12 days of filming in Denver, the "NowhereLand" production spent $3.25 million on hotels, equipment rentals, food, etc. Imagine how much out-of-state money would have been left in Colorado had most of the movie, or all of it, been produced here. 
  
In the hypothetical perfect world, states would compete on their merits for movie productions. If that were the case, Colorado would fare well - as it did throughout the 20th century. We have large cities, small towns, mountains, plains, rivers, streams, sun, rain, snow and waterfalls galore. That why more than 400 films used Colorado as a backdrop in the past century. 
  
But those days are gone. At the dawn of the 21st century, states began to compete financially for films - outdoing each other with lavish incentives. When they hear that Colorado offers nothing, producers immediately look elsewhere. 
  
The Massey/Jahn bill, which has substantial bipartisan support, creates a unique state investment. The program would offer rebates of a sort totaling no more than $25 million each year. Producers who spend at least $250,000 in Colorado would apply for transferable tax credits worth 25 percent of their expenses - but only after the money has been spent in Colorado and accounted for. The tax credits could be sold at a discount to Colorado-based businesses looking to reduce tax liabilities. 
  
Movie productions pump substantial money - including tax revenue - into the state's economy. That means the tax credits can be viewed as investments that benefit taxpayers and save them money. And here's the best part: it's an investment in which the dividends are paid up front, while the movies are produced. It's a smart, fair and workable plan.