The Ohio Attorney General's office has released data on the first three months of concealed handgun license issuance.

---->Concealed Carry Licensure Statistics Report - 2nd Qtr 2004 (.pdf)

OFCC's overall assessment:

Issuance:
In the first 90 days under the new law, 26,307 standard licenses, and 30 temporary emergency licenses were issued to Ohio residents.

Gun ban extremists and the liberal media have attempted to claim that because one state office made an early projection that 100,000 licenses would be issued the first six months, 26,307 in one quarter is "proof" that demand for the new law is low.

As OFCC has been reporting since the day the law took effect, restrictive appointment schedules, misapplication of the law, the
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unlawful addition of provisions by a few sheriffs not required by the General Assembly, and blatant obstinance on the part of sheriffs in a few of Ohio's most populous counties, have significantly reduced the number of applications able to be processed in the first 90 days.

The map at right depicts areas where county sheriffs are doing their jobs extremely well, and also depicts high population centers that where few applicants are able to be processed. In Cuyahoga County, for example, only 40 applicants may apply each week.

Considering the challenges applicants faced in the first 90 days (and which many still do face), the fact that 26,337 licenses were issued to Ohio residents sends a strong message that this law is, in fact, in serious demand in our state.

Thousands more applications are still being processed, and thousands more future applicants are now in training.

Click on the "Read More..." link below for more.

August 26, 2004
Toledo City Paper

"Morons" was all the letter said, but we knew immediately what had made the writer so angry.

The anonymous letter, actually an e-mail, was one of many angry missives directed at the City Paper after we made the list of concealed-carry permit holders in Lucas County available on our Web site. The list included permit holders’ names, dates of birth and counties of residence.

Click on the "Read More..." link below for more.

August 26, 2004
Cincinnati Enquirer

Loveland eases gun law

By Sheila McLaughlin

LOVELAND - Council has changed the city's gun law, opening the way for a proposed indoor target range opposed by residents who would be its neighbors.

But an opponent said the fight isn't over.

"There will be a referendum. Council is up there to represent the people; they are not there to exercise their own personal opinions," said Mike Showler, whose wife is on council. Katie Showler and Councilman Paul Elliott opposed the measure in a 5-2 vote late Tuesday.

The amendment expands the legal discharge of guns within the city to include an indoor range. The new law limits the use of ammunition at a range to .50-caliber for handguns and .223-caliber for rifles, and bans firing automatic weapons inside by anyone but police.

For Shooter's Supply, a 16-year Loveland business, it was the first step needed to open an indoor range at the former Matthew:25 church on Loveland-Madeira Road. Shooter's Supply owners Marvin Mann and Dan Lovett also must acquire a zoning variance on the property because it is within 200 feet of a residential area. They have yet to apply for it.

The threat of a referendum was no surprise to Lovett, who said it won't discourage him from trying to keep the business in Loveland.

Click on the "Read More..." link below for more.

August 26, 2004
Akron Beacon Journal

Your Aug. 9 editorial headlined "Victim of the gun lobby'' was full of opinions disguised as facts. The comment "no sport use'' is irrelevant. Where in the Constitution or case law does it state that any particular type of gun must have a sporting use? Those banned semi-automatic weapons only look like their fully automatic military counterparts. In this case, they may look like a duck, but they don't quack like one. (By the way, no AK-47 or Uzi "needs'' a huge ammunition clip.)

You were correct in stating that "manufacturers skirt the ban by making minor modifications on some guns.'' This just goes to prove that the law is full of silly and misleading definitions of an assault rifle, a pistol grip, a bayonet lug. When was the last time you heard of anyone being threatened with a bayoneted rifle? When was the last time you heard of a crime being committed with an "assault rifle''?

You argued that law-enforcement statistics "suggest'' that the ban has cut down crime committed with assault weapons. Statistics should not suggest something, they should prove something. This same kind of argument could be used to suggest that the use of baby food for infants could be the cause of drug use in some adults.

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You stated that the National Rifle Association gave senators marching orders to defeat a bill by a 90-8 vote. If the NRA has that much influence on Congress, how did the assault bill pass in the first place? Could it be the anti-gun arguments were not believable?

President Bush has better things to do than to press for legislation that has done nothing to make the homeland safer for "weapons of mass destruction.'' After assault weapons were confiscated in Iraq, many were returned because the unarmed Iraqis were being slaughtered. I guess you think it's OK for Iraqis to protect themselves, but not American citizens.

Sorry, Beacon Journal, but your anti-gun agenda is showing.

Roland Paolucci
Cuyahoga Falls

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