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2005 Concealed Carry Annual Report
2005 Concealed Carry Annual Report
Concealed Handgun
Law
Annual Report
for 2005
30 E. Broad St., 17th Fl.
Columbus, OH 43215-3428
Telephone: (614) 466-4320
Facsimile: (614) 466-5087
www.ag.state.oh.us
Almost two years ago, Ohio’s new concealed handgun law went into effect and for the first
time, Ohioans could apply to their county sheriffs for a license to carry a concealed handgun.
Since then, tens of thousands of law-abiding citizens have taken handgun safety courses from
certified instructors, applied for, and were issued, licenses to carry a concealed handgun.
As the chief public official charged with implementing the concealed handgun law statewide,
my office has undertaken a number of actions pertaining to the concealed carry law.
My office has answered thousands of questions from citizens and from law enforcement about
the law, created and maintained publications, a website, and electronic databases required by the
statute, processed criminal background checks, and provided in-person and online training and
assistance to sheriffs to help them fulfill their obligations under the law.
Since the law took effect, members of my staff formalized reciprocity agreements with 16 other
states to allow recognition of those states’ CCW licenses in Ohio and to allow Ohioans to carry
concealed weapons while outside the State, and developed processes to allow Probate Courts
and hospitals to report data regarding persons disqualified from receiving licenses for medical
reasons.
My office has also issued advisory opinions concerning the law and defended the against court
challenges.
Part of the sheriff’s responsibilities under the law is to report to the Ohio Peace Officer Training
Commission the number of regular and temporary emergency licenses they issued, the number
of applications they denied, and how many licenses were suspended or revoked. The Commis-
sion is required to compile those statistics and present them to the Governor and the leadership
of the Ohio General Assembly.
I am pleased to present this second annual report to the Governor and leadership of the Ohio
General Assembly on the activities in Ohio relating to the Ohio Concealed Carry Law.
Jim Petro
Attorney General
Ohio’s Concealed
Handgun Law
2005 Annual Report
Executive Summary
Ohio’s law to allow citizens to carry concealed handguns went into effect on April 8, 2004.
The law allows citizens with proper firearms safety training to apply with their county sheriff, or
a sheriff of an adjacent county, for a license to carry a concealed handgun.
Persons who apply for a license are required to undergo a criminal history background check
to ensure that they are not prohibited by law from carrying a concealed handgun. For persons
who have lived in Ohio for five years or more, the sheriff submits the applicant’s fingerprints
electronically to the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation for an in-state
criminal background check. Applicants who have lived in Ohio fewer than five years are required
to undergo a national check through the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Substitute House Bill 12 of the 125th General Assembly, which allowed citizens to carry concealed
weapons, requires county sheriffs to provide statistical information about the licenses they issue
to the Ohio Peace Officer Training Commission. The Commission, in turn, is required by Ohio
Revised Code Chapter 109.731 to compile those statistics and report them to the Governor and
the leadership of the General Assembly each year. This document is the second such report under
Ohio’s new law.
Licenses Issued
For calendar year 2005 — the first full year the law was in effect — Ohio sheriffs issued 22,487
regular licenses to carry concealed handguns. The sheriffs issued 76 temporary emergency licenses,
which allow a person who submits evidence of imminent danger to receive a non-renewable 90-
day license to carry a concealed handgun. That figure is 11 higher than the number issued in
2004. Along with the 45,497 licenses issued in 2004, as of December 31, 2005 67,984 Ohioans had
been issued licenses to carry a concealed handgun.
Applications Denied
The law requires that sheriffs shall deny an application by any person who fails to meet the
eligibility criteria specified in R.C. 2923.125 for regular licenses, or R.C. 2923.1213 for temporary
emergency licenses. In 2005, sheriffs denied 427 applications for regular licenses (9 fewer denials
than in 2004) and 3 applications for temporary emergency licenses.
Select Statistics at a Glance
Licenses Issued
Number of Licenses
Issued - 2005
30,000
Number of Licenses
Issued - 2004
25,000
20,000
15,000
10,000
5,000
0
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4
Year Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4
2005 6,501 7,103 4,496 4,387
2004 NA 26,307 12,127 7,063
100
80
60
40
20
0
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4
Action Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4
Suspended 43 58 50 68
Revoked 10 22 20 23
Denied 108 112 89 118
Reciprocity Agreements with Other States
The law requires the Ohio Attorney General to craft reciprocity agreements with other states to
allow Ohioans with permits to carry weapons in those jurisdictions and for those states’ citizens
to carry weapons in Ohio. These agreements require an analysis of those other laws to ensure they
meet the requirements of Ohio’s concealed weapons law and vice versa (ORC 109.69). Please visit
the Attorney General’s web site at http://www.ag.state.oh.us for the most recent list of states.
0
Montgomery C lermont Franklin Lake Butler
Concealed Carry Licensure Statistics Report
Ohio Totals for the Year 2005
30 E. Broad St.
Columbus, Ohio 43215
(614) 466-4320