Concealed carry permits show increase

Van Wert independent/Attorney General’s Office

Concealed carry permits increased by nearly 50 percent, according to the Ohio Attorney General’s Office.

A report issued by Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine on Friday indicates that more than 145,000 concealed carry licenses were issued in Ohio in 2013, the largest number since licenses were first issued in 2004.

According to statistics reported to the Attorney General’s office, county sheriffs in Ohio issued 96,972 new licenses and 48,370 renewal licenses in 2013, or 145,342 total licenses. The number of licenses is also the largest in a single year since licenses were first issued in 2004. The previous record for new licenses issued and total licenses issued was in 2012, when 64,650 new licenses and 76,810 total licenses were issued. The previous record for renewal licenses was in 2008, the first year licenses could be renewed, when 31,139 licenses were renewed.

The Attorney General’s Office compiles an annual report as required by law about the number of licenses issued each year. Each sheriff must report concealed handgun license statistics quarterly to the Ohio Peace Officer Training Commission within the Ohio Attorney General’s Office.

Locally, the Van Wert County Sheriff’s Office issued 373 new licenses and 121 renewals in 2013. That’s up from 189 new licenses and 28 renewals in 2012, according to Attorney General’s Office statistics.

Among neighboring counties, Allen County, not surprisingly, had the most concealed carry permits, with 843 new permits and 506 renewals issued. Mercer County was next with 654 new permits and 212 renewals, while Auglaize County had 601 new permits issued and 188 renewals.

In Putnam County, 322 new permits were issued, with 61 renewals, while Paulding County saw 180 news permits and 50 renewals issued.

Concealed carry permit suspensions were also up slightly over 2012, with 1,154 suspensions in 2013, versus 1,030 the year before. Van Wert County suspended two permits, while Auglaize County and Allen County each had five suspensions. There were four suspensions in Mercer County, while Paulding and Putnam counties each had one suspension in 2013.

Area counties also had a number of concealed carry permit denials. Van Wert County had four denials, while there were nine denials in Allen County, eight in Mercer County, three in Putnam County and two each in Auglaize and Paulding counties. Statewide, a total of 1,142 concealed carry permits were denied, a fraction of the more than 145,000 new and renewal permits issued.

To learn more about Ohio’s concealed carry laws, visit www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/law-enforcement/concealed-carry.