Interest in gun permits soaring

What is it about journalists that insist on using phrases like "pack heat" in writing their stories? Few if any persons who apply for licenses would ever be caught referring to this serious responsibility so flippantly.

March 27. 2004
Cincinnati Post

A lot of people in Hamilton County apparently want to pack heat.

Even though a new law that allows Ohioans to carry concealed weapons doesn't go into effect until April 8, the Hamilton County Sheriff's Department is already receiving a stream of calls from people wanting to apply for permits.

"We get them in Court Services, we get them in Patrol, we get them everywhere," department spokesman Steve Barnett said.

Barnett said it's difficult to tell how many calls the department is getting because they're being received by so many different offices.

Sheriff's department officials expect the initial onslaught of interest to last about six months.

"It will be pretty hectic for the first six months," he said. "We'll do the best we can."

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Under a measure signed into law Jan. 8 by Gov. Bob Taft, people wanting to carry concealed weapons must register through the sheriff's office in their own county or a neighboring county. Sheriff's offices then have 45 days to perform criminal background checks and issue a license if applicants qualify.

Gun-users who want concealed-carry permits must read the state's concealed-carry publication.

They can download applications now online at the Ohio Attorney General's Web Site: www.ag.state.oh.us/web_applications/concealcarry.

Barnett said sheriff's office officials here hope to have applications and publications within about a week.

Processing the applications will cost $45 for people who have lived in Ohio for five years or longer, $69 for people who have lived in the state less than five years, Barnett said.

In Clermont County, Sheriff Tim Rodenberg plans to begin distributing applications Monday at the sheriff's main office in Batavia, 4470 State Route 22. Rodenberg's office, however, will not accept completed applications until April 7.

People convicted of certain crimes and people who have publicly documented mental health problems will be denied permits, Barnett said.

Among those are people who have been ordered by the courts to get mental health treatment. Laws that protect the confidentiality of private health records will make it impossible to determine whether a concealed-carry applicant has sought mental health treatment on his own, Barnett said.

Those who receive the permits will have to carry a card similar to a driver's license.

Concealed weapons will remain banned in certain buildings, such as police stations, day care centers, schools, bars and airport terminals, and the law allows private employers to prohibit firearms on their property.

Property owners or those who lease property may post signs that prohibit people from carrying firearms on the property.

Violating that law is a fourth-degree misdemeanor.