Evaluation: First 270 days with Ohio's Concealed Handgun License Law

The Ohio Attorney General's office has issued its annual report on concealed handgun license issuance for 2004 (April – December). This is the report which is required by Ohio law.

---->Concealed Carry Licensure Statistics Annual Report – 2004 (.pdf)

OFCC's overall assessment:

Despite unnecessary restrictions, OhioCCW is a success!

OFCC has already documented several licensed citizens who have defended their lives when violently attacked. Most instances of armed self-defense never make headlines.

Ohio CHL-holders have proven to be much more law-abiding than even OFCC predicted they would be. Only 42 CHLs (0.09%), have been revoked in the first nine months. And just 78 CHLs (0.17%), were suspended for any reason, and often reinstated later.

Considering the challenges applicants have faced in the first 270 days (and which many still do face), the fact that 45,562 licenses were issued to Ohio residents (0.398% of the population, and nearly 1 percent of eligible [of age] applicants) sends a strong message that the choice for armed self-defense is in serious demand in our state.

The State of Minnesota passed a similarly restrictive shall-issue concealed carry law in 2003. In that first year, 9,100 new licenses were issued (0.17% of the population). The State of New Mexico began issuing licenses in 2004, and issued 2,201 licenses (0.11% of the population). Looking farther back in history, the State of Florida issued 33,150 licenses in 1988, the first year of that state's now vaunted (and copied) CCW law.

OhioCCW is proving to be one of the most successful programs in the state. What other consumer protection program, other than the "do not call" registry, has this kind of participation? Ohio is issuing approximately 175 concealed handgun licenses PER DAY.

ISSUANCE:

In the first 270 days under the new law, 45,497 standard licenses, and 65 temporary emergency licenses were issued to Ohio residents.

At the end of 2004, this law has already proven to be one of the most successful pieces of consumer legislation in state history. Nearly 46,000 Ohioans have taken advantage of it in the first nine months!

There were higher expectations for 2004 applications, based mainly upon patterns established in other states with much more liberal laws than Ohio's, thanks to having been mangled in the state Senate in order to appease Gov. Taft. Had the House-passed version of House Bill 12 became law, those expectations would likely have been met. As it is, no other state has passed laws with many of the egregious restrictions Ohioans are forced to deal with.

What's more, the impact of many Ohio sheriffs’ increasingly restrictive application schedules appears to be becoming more severe.

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

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 (per capita) are able to be processed. It is these counties which continue to skew Ohio's totals.

Restrictive appointment schedules hamper license issuance:

Overall, the enforcement of restrictive appointment schedules by some sheriffs seems to be influencing number of licenses issued even more than the amount of days they accept licenses.

Cuyahoga, Franklin, Hamilton vs. Montgomery:

Cuyahoga: Pop 1,363,888, issued 846
Franklin: Pop 1,088,944, issued 1538
Hamilton: Pop 823,472, issued 1394
Montgomery: Pop 552,187, issued 2249

The three most populous counties in Ohio are Cuyahoga, Franklin and Hamilton counties. While Franklin and Hamilton are open 5 days per week, and Cuyahoga 3 days, each county also requires appointments, which can limit the number of applicants to 40 per week or less.

As a result, Ohio’s most populous counties rank at the very bottom when ranked according to percent of population licensed: Licenses issued by these three county sheriffs amount to just 0.062% of Cuyahoga Co.’s population, 0.141% of Franklin Co.’s, and 0.169% of Hamilton Co.’s.

By comparison, Montgomery County Sheriff Dave Vore (Ohio’s 4th most populous county), accepts licenses 5 days per week, and does not require appointments. As a result, only one other county out-ranks Montgomery County in total number of licenses issued, and the number of licenses issued as a percentage of population are nearly four times higher there than in Franklin, Hamilton and Cuyahoga Co.’s.

• Only 1 of the top 9 county license issuers (highest number of licenses issued) require appointments.
• The bottom 5 (lowest number of licenses issued) all require appointments.
• In all, 36 (41%) Ohio sheriff's require appointments.There is every reason to believe more residents in these restrictive counties are carrying than these numbers suggest. Thanks to an extremely important provision in the OhioCCW law, which allows residents to apply for a license in a neighboring county, obstructionist sheriffs are reducing, but not halting, the ability of their constituents to obtain CHLs.

  Although none of the top 3 populace counties (averaging almost 1.1 million in population) are among the Top 6 list for licenses issued, 5 of the Top 6 counties border one of these three. Clermont and Butler border Hamilton; Summit, Lorain and Geauga border Cuyahoga. Additionally, Madison County, which borders Franklin, ranks first among all 88 counties when they are ranked according to licenses issued as a percentage of population. Licenses issued in Madison County amount to 2.267% of the population there. Only one other county with similar population to Madison’s even exceeded 1%, and most were around 0.50%.

  Limiting days which applications may be submitted hampers license issuance:

  A few more examples from around the state also shed light on the impact of problem sheriffs.

  Ottawa vs. Sandusky

  1. Ottawa County has issued triple the number of licenses as Sandusky, while having a 34% smaller population, and having a similar geo-political makeup.

     Ottawa: Pop. 41,192, issued 391
     Sandusky: Pop. 61,753, issued 129

     Ottawa County accepts applications 5 days per week, by appointment, and licenses issued amount to 0.949% of the population there. Sandusky County Sheriff David G. Gangwer, on the other hand, only performs his duty under the law one day per week. Licenses issued under the restrictive system in Sandusky County amount to only 0.303% of the population.

  Clermont vs. Warren:

  1. Clermont County has issued almost more than four times as many licenses as Warren, with similar population and geo-political makeup.

     Clermont: Pop 185,799, issued 2285
     Warren: Pop 181,743, issued 556

     Although there are 12 counties larger, Clermont County has issued more licenses that any other county in the state. The number of licenses issued amounts to 1.23% of the population there. In Warren County, on the other hand, Sheriff Tom Ariss only performs his duty under the law one day per week. Licenses issued under the restrictive system in Warren County amount to only 0.306% of the population have managed to obtain licenses under this restrictive system.

  REVOCATION:

  42 CHLs, or 0.09%, have been revoked in the first nine months. Bear in mind that some revocations occur because license-holders pass away, not because of any legal infractions.

  SUSPENSION:

  78 CHLs, or 0.17%, were suspended in the first nine months. Bear in mind that in some counties, temporary restraining orders are issued automatically when a couple files for divorce, and would result in a CHL suspension. In addition, CHL suspensions are sometimes reinstated after non-firearms-related charges against the license-holder are dropped.

  By comparison, 7.00% of drivers' licenses in the State of Ohio were suspended in 2003.

  DENIAL:

  436 standard license applications, and 5 temporary emergency license applications, were denied in the first nine months.

  The law is working to prevent the “wrong” people from obtaining licenses, and it didn’t take an abusive and privacy-invading Media Access Loophole to obtain this information.

  THERE IS MUCH GOOD NEWS!

• The media has already documented several licensed citizens who have already been able to defend their lives when violently attacked. Most instances of armed self-defense never make headlines.
• Many instructors are reporting increased class sizes in early 2005. Thousands of applications are now being processed, and thousands more future applicants are now in training.
• Approximately twenty state and national chains and more than 200 other businesses have removed their discriminatory signs barring CHL-holders.
• Most Ohio Sheriffs are serving their constituents and their duty under the law quite well. They backed passage of this law and they are working hard to issue licenses.
• Two defiant Sheriffs have lost cases filed against them, and third was investigated for wrongdoing. Cuyahoga Co.'s Sheriff McFaul settled a lawsuit, paid all attorney's fees and court costs, and began issuing licenses after a short delay last spring. This fall, Ohio Supreme Court told Franklin Co.'s Sheriff Karnes he was wrong to demand from applicants additional 'proof' that a temporary emergency license was needed. In a third case, a Shelby Co. grand jury refused to indict Sheriff Kevin O'Leary despite 100% proof that he committed a felony by releasing protected information about CHL-holders to the media.
• Ohio Attorney General Jim Petro has declared that local ordinances and rules seeking to restrict concealed carry an invalid, and has filed a Motion to Intervene on behalf of OFCC in our suit against City of Clyde. He has ruled that providing a social security number on a CHL application is voluntary, and he filed a request with the Supreme Court to have Toby Hoover's anti-CCW lawsuit thrown out for lack of standing.
• In a unanimous decision, the Ohio Supreme Court did toss Hoover's lawsuit which claimed county sheriffs do not have the resources to conduct thorough background checks of permit applicants. The Court found that her case did not have standing with that court.
• Nearly 46,000 licensed citizens are now protecting themselves and their families on the streets of Ohio.