OHIO — Throughout the Buckeye State, there were 73,552 concealed carry permits issued last year.
Attorney Generak Dave Yost issued the report, which showed county sheriffs issued 14,440 new licenses and 59,112 renewals. Yost said in a news release that permit holders who want to renew their licenses must do so every five years.
Qualifying Ohioans are allowed to carry a concealed handgun without a permit, because of law changes that took place June 13, 2022. County sheriffs began issuing concealed-carry licenses in 2004 and are responsible for issuing the licenses, renewing them, suspending them and revoking them if necessary.
“The change in law, of course, did not eliminate the permitting system,” Yost wrote in a letter to Gov. Mike DeWine, Ohio House speaker Rep. Matt Huffman and Ohio Senate president Rob McColley. “Although there has been a predictable decrease in the number of concealed-carry licenses since the law took effect in June 2022, more than 14,000 new licenses were issued by Ohio’s 88 county sheriffs in 2024 and nearly 60,000 licenses were renewed.”
Sheriffs must report concealed handgun license statistics each quarter to the Ohio Peace Officer Training Commission.
Yost said the concealed-carry license provides benefits to gun owners such as reciprocity agreements with most other states. Since some states do not recognize permitless-carry, Ohio permit holders are still able to carry in those states. Owners must also attend a mandatory eight hours of education to obtain a concealed-carry license.
“The invaluable training covers handgun safety, explains state laws about self-defense and deadly force and includes two hours on a shooting range under the guidance of certified instructors,” Yost wrote in his letter. “All gun owners — no matter their permit status — benefit from training, and should seek opportunities to learn and train with their firearm.”
Across the state, there was a 7.3% decrease in concealed-carry permits issued in 2024.
The top five counties for issued licenses last year were Franklin with 1,154, Lake with 890, Hamilton, with 700, Montgomery with 467 and Summit with 461.
A drop was also noted from 2023 to 2024 in terms of licenses renewed; decreasing by 21.2% last year.
The top five counties for renewing licenses were Franklin with 3,489, Lake with 3,008, Clermont with 2,177, Montgomery with 2,020 and Butler with 1,947.
Ohio’s county sheriffs are also reponsible for suspending or even revoking concealed-carry licenses if and when the owner has been arrested, charged with certain offenses or if the license is the subject of a protection order. If the license holder is found not guilty, or if charges are dismissed, they may regain their license.
Sheriffs are not required to report why a license was suspended.
The state saw a 22% decrease in suspended licenses in 2024.
Within the counties, the top five for suspended licenses were Lake with 125, Franklin with 123, Clermont with 113, Montgomery with 71 and Hamilton with 65.
When it comes to permanently revoking licenses, the person must no longer meet the eligibility requirements to carry a concealed handgun. Sheriffs can revoke licenses if a holder moves out of Ohio, dies, cancels the license, is convicted of a disqualifying crime or is subject to restrictions based on mental illness or drug or alcohol dependence.
Ohio saw a decrease in revoked licenses in 2024 as well, decreasing by 16.3%.
The counties with the most revoked licenses were Franklin with 77, Clermont with 46, Lake with 34, Mahoning with 29 and Montgomery with 23.
View the full report below:
This article was originally published by a spectrumnews1.com . Read the Original article here. .