First quarter new Ohio CCW permits nose dive while renewals soar

Another 16,205 Ohioans were legally authorized to carry a concealed weapon during the first three months of this year; a huge drop from 2013’s same three-month period.

Meanwhile, 15,832 dually licensed Ohioans renewed their permits during this year’s first three months. That figure is more than twice the number of renewals issued in the first quarter of 2013.

All statistics are gleaned from Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine’s First Quarter report on concealed carry permit activity. The report is required by Ohio law and the latest accounting is for the months January through March.

Every one of Ohio’s 88 counties registered the issuance of new concealed carry licenses during the first three months of this year while only one -Champaign County – failed to record any renewals.

By comparison, during the first three months of 2013 the state’s 88 county sheriffs processed and approved a whopping 31,407 concealed carry permits and renewed 6,354 concealed carry permits.

For 2012 the number of new concealed carry permits issued was more in line with the number for the first three months of this year: 16,823. And another 1,300 concealed carry holders saw their permits reissued for the same period in 2012.

In terms of which county issued the greatest number of new concealed carry permits during this year’s first quarter, that honor goes to Lake County. Here Lake County Sherriff Dan Dunlap’s team approved 1,122 new concealed carry permits during the first three months of this year.

Lake County often leads in this category, with prospective candidates from this and adjacent counties often citing Dunlap’s methodical and efficient issuing process as the main reason they chose Lake.

Among other Ohio counties that issued substantial numbers of new permits during the first quarter of 2014 were Montgomery County (773), Mahoning County (551), Summit County (484), Hamilton County (780), and Franklin County (780).

At the other end of the number of new permits issued during the first three months of 2014 were such counties as Monroe County (33), Noble County (32), Defiance and Harrison counties (each 29), Perry County (24), and lastly, Perry County (14).

All that being said, Lake County did not claim title to the most renewals issued, however. Butler County is credited with this title, issuing 762 renewal concealed carry permits during the first three months of 2014.

To illustrate the growing number of permit holders seeking to renew their permits, fully 38 of Ohio’s 88 county sheriffs approved more renewals than they issued permits to first-time applicants during the first three months of this year.

And one – Ashtabula County -  recorded an identical 76 new as well as renewed concealed carry permits during the first quarter of this year.

The next required reporting quarter for Attorney General DeWine will cover the months April, May and June. Likely this report will become available around the middle of August.

During both 2012 and 2013, both more new and renewal concealed carry permits were processed during their respective second quarters than during their respective first quarters.

- Jeffrey L. Frischkorn

JFrischk@Ameritech.net