Attorney General announces Fourth Quarter 2006 CHL statistics

By Jim Irvine

Attorney General Marc Dann has released the concealed handgun license statistics for the fourth quarter of 2006. There were 4,232 regular licenses, and 13 temporary emergency licenses issued, bringing the total to 86,973 Ohioans issued a licensed to carry a concealed handgun. Nearly 19,000 law-abiding citizens obtained their CHL in 2007.

There have been no shootouts over fender-benders, no license holders shooting up stores because they were unhappy about something, no honest citizens turned cop killers at traffic stops and no "shootout at the OK Corral", such as the anti-self-defense zealots claimed would happen. They simply have no credibility left. The media elite never let the facts get in the way of pushing their agenda though, so expect the good fight to continue.

License-holders continue to quietly go about their lives. They carry their guns like their insurance policy. Quietly, calmly and professionally. Rarely is anyone else even aware of their protection. But when things go wrong, they are prepared, and survive. They win their violent encounter. And when they help police take a criminal off the street, it makes the all of society safer. That is something to be applauded.

There was a 20% increase in the number of licenses issued compared to the prior quarter, possibly indicating gun owners approval of the changes HB347 will make when it becomes effective next month. As expected, the number of new licenses continues a slow decline as an increasing percentage of the population is already armed. Year over year quarterly licenses issues are almost identical, indicating continued strong demand.

On average, over the past two years, 58 people receive their Ohio CHL every day (including Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays) Later this year we will surpass 100,000 licenses issued. The program continues to be a success with many good stories and few problems.

While the total number of license-holders continues to grow, the number of suspensions is consistently low, still accounting for less than one percent of alllicenses issued. Revocations continue to beabout one-third of one percent of all issued licenses.

Contrary to the anti-gunners' cries before the passage of concealed carry, we never asked for the statistics regarding license suspensions to be hidden. We knew that the numbers would continue proving that allowing law abiding citizens to carry a gun to defend their life from violent criminals was good policy and would make Ohio a better place to live.

This year we will cite the strong statistical evidence as we ask the Ohio legislature to remove some of the restrictions the un-informed insisted be placed on license holders. Just as we saw in other states, we the debate has now changed from "Should we allow concealed carry?" to "How should we allow concealed carry?" As we keep moving forward, it's important to remember that tomorrow's victories are made possible by yesterday's hard work and success.

We are proud to bring you the quarterly statistics which once again proves that our law is working.

Click here for Fourth Quarter 2006 statistics (.pdf).

NOW AVAILABLE: 2006 Annual Report: Ohio's Concealed Carry Law (.pdf).

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