Ottawa Co. Sheriff says number of women obtaining Ohio CHLs ''surprising''
The Port Clinton News Herald is reporting that Ottawa County Sheriff Robert L. Bratton has been surprised by the number of women who have obtained licenses to carry concealed handguns in his county.
According to the story, eleven percent of those who have gotten permits to carry concealed guns from the Ottawa County Sheriff's Office are women.
"We've had a lot of women come through, at least a surprising number for me," Bratton is quoted as saying. "You look at the society and where we're going today. I suppose you've got business women and women traveling. It's like a security measure."
This is indeed good news. According to Dr. John R. Lott, Jr., "murder rates decline when either more women or more men carry concealed handguns, but the effect is especially pronounced for women. An additional woman carrying a concealed handgun reduces the murder rate for women by about three to four times more than an additional man carrying a concealed handgun reduces the murder rate for men."
None of the Ottawa County license-holders have been charged with crimes, Bratton told the newspaper. "We have not had any problems at all. I would say the program on our end is going very well."
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The newspaper appears to have collected the list of 412 Ottawa Co. CHL-holders’ names, as it cites sheriff’s records as revealing that twenty-four of the women mentioned above are from Ottawa County, and 13 are from Lucas County, and six are from Wood County, and one is from Sandusky County.
Stories like this need to be broadcast far and wide in Ohio, because the message to potential attackers is clear:
“Your next potential victim may be armed, and be prepared to refuse to be a victim.”
Not all women must choose to carry a concealed firearm to benefit from the reformation of Ohio's self-defense laws. Publicity alone can make a difference, and here is proof:
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In 1966 the police in Orlando, Florida, responded to a rape epidemic by embarking on a highly publicized program to train 2,500 women in firearm use. The next year rape fell by 88 percent in Orlando (the only major city to experience a decrease that year); burglary fell by 25 percent. Not one of the 2,500 women actually ended up firing her weapon; the deterrent effect of the publicity sufficed." (Congressional Record, 90th Cong., 2d sess., January 30, 1968, p. 1496, n. 7) Five years later Orlando's rape rate was still 13 percent below the pre-program level, whereas the surrounding standard metropolitan area had suffered a 308 percent increase.
Other current stories on women & guns:
Pistol-packing mamas, and daughters, take increasing aim
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