COLUMBUS, OH - Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine (R) has released the concealed handgun license (CHL) statistics for the third quarter of 2013.

With only nine months' worth of licenses counted, new records have already been set for the most initial licenses issued and most licenses renewed in a year.

Demand for CHLs maintained a blistering pace in the July through September reporting period, soaring 34% over the same period last year. Ohio sheriffs issued 18,705 regular CHLs, 13,913 renewals, and 9 Temporary emergency Licenses (TELs), for 32,627 total licenses issued during the quarter.

During this period, almost 15 people per hour, or 500 per weekday, received a new or renewed CHL from an Ohio sheriff.

Jim Irvine, President of Buckeye Firearms Association, said the numbers show that the public rejects recent gun control efforts. "It is abundantly clear that Ohioans don't want more gun control. In fact, they want to exercise their Constitutional rights and have the ability to own and carry firearms for personal protection."

Demand for CHLs has been strong since Governor John Kasich (R) signed SB 17 (Restaurant & Car Carry Rules Fix) and HB 54 (Restoration of Rights) legislation into law. Last December, Kasich signed HB 495 (Concealed Carry Modernization), legislation which made the CHL program function more efficiently.

At the end of September, there was an all-time record of nearly 392,000 Ohio residents licensed to carry concealed firearms. By the end of the year, there will be over 400,000, which represents one out of every 22 adults in Ohio.

"It has been over nine years since Ohio's concealed carry law took effect," said Irvine. "It is clear that despite the handwringing and dire predictions some made, the law is obviously working well and is popular with responsible, law-abiding adults who care about safety."

Irvine also says none of this should be surprising. "The fact is, all 50 states now have concealed carry laws in effect. And not a single state has ever had a problem with it. Today, the same people who predicted concealed carry would create a bloodbath, are now saying Stand Your Ground will create a crime wave. They were wrong then and they're wrong now."

# # #

For more information, please visit www.BuckeyeFirearms.org.

Follow BFA on Twitter and Facebook!
Contact: Jim Irvine
jirvine@buckeyefirearms.org
440-503-3011