In large numbers Ohioans are targeting the process required to legally obtain a concealed carry firearms license.
Figures compiled and supplied by the Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine point to the steady growth in seeking this documentation which requires fingerprinting, a background check as well as the successful completion of a required 12-hour course that includes a mandatory two-hour range time with a handgun.
The most recent Ohio Attorney General concealed carry statistics reveal that 11,965 permits were issued to applicants during 2011’s forth quarter. That is the greatest number of forth-quarter-issued permits ever awarded during the program’s six-plus years of activity.
Tallying 2011’s other three quarters with that of the forth quarter and a preliminary 49,825 licenses were issued to legally eligible applicants. If these numbers become official they would represent the second highest total number of concealed carry permits issued ever since 2006 when the program began. The most permits ever issued by the state’s 88 county sheriffs was the 56,691 licenses approved in 2009.
The total number of concealed carry permits issued for the program’s other years includes: 18,781 for 2006, 22,103 for 2007, 33,864 for 2008, and 47,337 for 2010. All figures are supplied by the Ohio Attorney General’s office and available for viewing at http://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/Enforcement/Concealed-Carry.
Thus, more than 265,000 Ohioans are now legally allowed to carry as concealed a handgun. Some experts are projecting that this figure could exceed 300,000 by the end of 2012.
Also, during 2011’s forth quarter the sheriff in Ashtabula County approved just 85 concealed carry permits, Cuyahoga County’s sheriff did the same with 135 concealed carry permits, Geauga County’s sheriff issued 232 concealed carry permits, and the Lorain County sheriff issued 212 concealed carry permits.
Known as an efficient and non-judgmental concealed carry permit-issuing county sheriff is Dan Dunlap. During the forth quarter his permit-dedicated team of deputies issued 428 concealed carry licenses to legally approved applicants. As a result, during the forth quarter, Lake County ranked seventh out of the state's 88 counties in issuing concealed carry permits.
Leading was Franklin County with 978 concealed carry permits granted. And only Jackson County saw no concealed carry permits issued during 2011's forth quarter.
As for concealed carry license suspensions, during the forth quarter Cuyahoga County reported two, Lorain County reported three and Lake County reported 15.
Lake County also denied permits to 17 applicants while Lorain County denied four applicants and Cuyahoga County denied permits to 13 applicants.
“Licenses to carry concealed is an important part of the responsible exercise of our fundamental rights,” Ohio Attorney General DeWine says in the introduction to the official “Concealed Carry Law Manual.”
- Jeffrey L. Frischkorn
JFrischkorn@News-Herald.com
Twitter: @Fieldkorn
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