Ohio Eclipses Annual CHL Record With a Quarter to Go

With its third quarter statistics report released Nov. 15, the number of new concealed handgun licenses (CHLs) issued in Ohio through the first nine months of 2013 has already eclipsed the 2012 record total by nearly 20,000 permits—with another full quarter of the year remaining. According to the office of Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine, 32,618 CHLs were issued during the third quarter of 2013.

Data gathered from Ohio county sheriffs indicate from July 1 through September 30, 18,705 new licenses and 13,913 renewal licenses were issued. The total reflected an impressive 110-percent spike over the third quarter of 2012, when county sheriffs issued 13,949 new licenses and 3,447 renewal licenses, or 17,396 total licenses.

During the first nine months of 2013, 82,186 new licenses have been issued in the Buckeye State, more than in any complete calendar year since concealed carry permits were first issued there in 2004. In 2012, the year with the previous highest amount, a total of 64,650 new licenses were issued. By law in Ohio, each county sheriff must report concealed handgun license statistics quarterly to the Ohio Peace Officer Training Commission within the Ohio Attorney General's Office. Those quarterly statistics are published on the Ohio Attorney General's website once compiled and verified.

In the first quarter of this year, 37,761 CHLs were issued in Ohio, nearly double the number issued in the same period in 2012. DeWine's office reported there were 31,407 new licenses and 6,354 renewal licenses issued between Jan. 1 and March 31, compared to 16,823 in the first quarter of 2012 and 64,650 new licenses issued for all of last year.

"The increase in law-abiding Ohioans seeking concealed carry permits to exercise their Second Amendment privileges is a noteworthy trend" DeWine said following the mid-year report. "I look forward to continuing to work with Ohio's county sheriffs to provide information to Ohioans on this law's usage."