2014 Attorney General Summary on Concealed Carry: Program's second-busiest year ever

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine (R) has released the Concealed Handgun License (CHL) statistics for the fourth quarter of 2014 and the annual report. 2014 was the second busiest year in the history of the concealed carry program, and ended with a record 438,000 Ohioans licensed to discretely carry firearms.

Demand for CHLs finished the year strong, with demand increasing slightly over the prior quarter. This is a normal quarterly trend. It was the third-busiest fourth quarter for new licenses issued; only 5% lower than last year’s quarterly numbers. Renewals remained consistent, with 74% of expiring licenses renewed. The average renewal rate is 72%.

Ohio sheriffs issued 13,912 regular CHLs, 10,097 renewals, and 17 Temporary Emergency Licenses (TELs), for 24,026 total licenses issued during the quarter. For the year, Ohio issued 58,066 initial CHLs, renewed 52,146 CHLs and issued 57 TELs for a total of 110,269 total licenses issued.

Several media outlets have noted the decrease over the prior (record) year in their headlines, but failed to note the continued increase in demand over time. The 2014 numbers reflect demand 75% greater than average yearly totals over the life of the program.

It is always difficult to assign specific reasons for behavior. The enormous spike in 2013 is largely attributed to President Obama winning re-election and other hostile factors. Governor Kasich also singed multiple pieces of legislation improving Ohio’s concealed carry laws. As we have seen many times in Ohio, when the law is improved, the demand for training and licenses increases. HB234 takes effect in March of 2015 and will likely increase demand for licenses through reduced mandatory training requirements. Though the bill contains many improvements to firearms law, it has little immediate effect for current license holders.

In 2013 we year saw an all-out assault on our right to keep and bear arms. Secretary of State John Kerry signed a hostile U.N. treaty aimed at destroying our Second Amendment rights. President Obama has signed executive orders and the Democrat-controlled Senate did everything they could to ram gun control through in the wake of the Sandy Hook massacre in Newtown, Connecticut. That pressure also spurs demand for people to buy guns, attend training, and become licensed to carry resulting in the incredible surge in demand during that year. 2014 returned to more normal levels, but remained significantly above any other year.

As noted above, there were 17 TELs issued in the quarter, up two compared to the third quarter. TELs are only valid for 90 days and cannot be renewed. TELs are issued to persons who need to carry a firearm for protection, but don't have time to obtain the required training. Applicants must apply with their sheriff, pay a fee and pass a background check. The 90 days allows them time to obtain training and apply for a regular CHL. After issuance, a person must wait four years before they qualify for another TEL.

Even with the record number of CHLs, there were only 71 licenses revoked during the quarter, below the average of the past several years and a decrease from the prior quarter. Less than one half of one percent of all CHLs have ever been revoked for any reason, including death or moving out of state. The establishment media love to make a big deal about the exceptional cases where a CHL breaks the law, but say almost nothing about the more than 99% of law-abiding license holders, many of whom have used their gun to protect life. About one in four revocations were because the training to obtain the license was deficient. Prospective CHL students are reminded that the application contains an affidavit where the student swears that he/she has received the appropriate training. Signing a false affidavit can subject persons to felony prosecutions and a permanent loss of firearms rights.

During the fourth quarter last year, almost 11 people per hour, or 360 per work-day, received a new or renewed CHL from an Ohio sheriff. The popular program is a good facilitator of communication between sheriffs and citizens. Take time to get to know your sheriff/deputy while obtaining/renewing your CHL. Law enforcement is generally very supportive of citizens' rights to carry firearms for self-defense.

We encourage you to talk with your sheriff about their support for our continued efforts to update Ohio's concealed carry laws to make them friendlier to citizens. Explain which current gun bills you support and get their thoughts on the bills. We welcome your feedback. Law enforcement and armed citizens are on the same side opposing criminals. We seem to be returning to a time when we can work together for the rights of the "good guys.

License-holders, like gun owners in general, are not extremists as the anti-gun rights crowd claims. They are honorable citizens who want the means of protection from real dangers. They understand that police cannot, and are not obligated to protect individual citizens from rape or murder any more than they can prevent someone from running a red light. Responsible people wear a seat belt to protect themselves in a car accident. They also carry a gun to protect themselves from a criminal attack.

With 438,000 Ohio citizens licensed to carry handguns, anytime you are in a group of 20 adults, odds are there is at least one licensee present. If you are with an older or more affluent group, the odds are even greater. Any school with 20 employees probably has one person with a CHL who could be authorized to carry a firearm in that school for the protection of the children. In short, there are few public locations you can travel in Ohio where there will not be a license-holder nearby. Unfortunately, because of the many places license-holders are still prohibited from carrying their guns, the license does not necessarily translate into having someone ready and armed to stop an attack. Victim zones remain a problem in Ohio law.

In the first year of Ohio's concealed carry law, the anti-self-defense people bragged about the "small" demand for the new CHLs. They claimed that only a few fringe gun nuts wanted to carry "hidden" guns. It is clear that those who seek to deny others the right of self-defense are themselves the radical minority.

Every time legislation is passed improving the law, anti-self-defense pundits predict mayhem and problems that will result without tight restrictions on gun owners. Last session it was HB 234 and the reduced training requirement, and they will surely attack good bills being introduced this session. They have been wrong every time, but some in the news media and anti-gun politicians keep repeating their nonsense.

Other media outlets have done a good job with factual reports on firearms and gun owners. A record number of Ohioans are carrying guns in more places, yet we have not seen any dramatic increase in violent crime. This is yet another indication that more guns in the hands of good citizens do not cause any increase in crime, and is likely to deter criminals. It is time to fully “de-Taft” our CHL laws and bring Ohio in line with the majority of states. While no large group of people is perfect, the CHL-holder has proven to be considerably more law-abiding than the population at large.

It always takes time for the feelings of society to have a real change and adopt new safety ideas. It was once normal for kids to ride in cars without seat belts or even car seats. Today such behavior can be considered criminally reckless. We rode bikes with no helmets. CPR was left to "the professionals."Thousands of lives are saved annually because our society realized how quickly a life could be lost and how a few simple changes make the difference between life and death. With the steadily increasing number of gun owners and concealed carry licenses, the day seems to be a little closer at hand when carrying a gun for safety will be seen as being as sensible as wearing seat belts.

April 8, 2015 will mark eleven years since Ohio's concealed carry law took effect. It is clear that the law is working well and is popular with responsible, law-abiding adults who care about safety.

Jim Irvine is the Buckeye Firearms Association President, and recipient of the NRA-ILA's 2011 "Jay M. Littlefield Volunteer of the Year Award" and the CCRKBA's 2012 "Gun Rights Defender of the Year Award."

Further Information:

Ohio Attorney General - 2014 Q4 Concealed Carry Stats Ohio CHL-holders acting in self-defense