JOURNAL-NEWS INVESTIGATION
The Journal-News examined a decade’s worth of data to bring you this exclusive story about concealed carry permits in Butler County.
More gun owners than ever purchased a concealed carry permit for handguns in Butler County during 2013, according to newly released data from the state.
Ohioans seeking concealed carry permits reached an all-time high last year — 145,342 new licenses and renewals were issued — and the Butler County’s Sheriff’s Office was flooded with more renewal and new applicants than any other time in the law’s nearly decade-long history.
More than 2,300 people obtained a concealed carry permit and another roughly 2,700 were granted a renewal for their permit. Since Ohio’s concealed carry law was implemented, typically between 1,000 and 2,000 people have bought permits every year, and anywhere between 100 to 1,500 people renew their license.
The law allows Ohio’s handgun owners, who have had prior training, to buy a permit that allows them to discreetly carry their weapon in certain public areas. Those interested in getting the permit must go through their county sheriff’s office for approval.
Across the state, county sheriff’s offices processed 30 percent more new concealed carry permits than the year before.
Like the rest of the state, Butler County saw a 30 percent jump in new permit holders, which Butler County Sheriff’s Office Chief Anthony Dwyer attributes to an increase in discussions over gun control and mass shootings. He said the office’s website page dedicated to concealed carry gets more hits and staff take more calls from residents interested in concealed carry permits following the aftermath of deadly shootings.
“Whenever there’s some highly publicized act of violence (like) the mass shootings, we’ll see an uptick in people’s concerns,” Dwyer said. “Whenever there’s a shooting (people) talk about gun control and there’s a knee-jerk reaction to get your permit.”
The uptick in the number of gun-toting residents forced the Butler County Sheriff’s Office to shift some county staffers to permit application processing, Dwyer said. The county requires residents to call ahead and schedule an appointment to apply for the concealed carry permit. Last year, the county began opening up concealed carry permits every 15 minutes during the work week, instead of every 30 minutes.
“We got behind a little bit last year with the influx,” Dwyer said. “We had to shift some staffing to try to get caught up.”
Dwyer said the county uses revenues collected on concealed carry permits to pay for overhead costs of running the permit processing program, such as fingerprinting tools or staffing. Each new concealed carry application for a longtime Ohio resident costs $67 — a price set by the state.
The permits have been moneymakers for Montgomery County, Sheriff Phil Plummer said. He’s made it a priority to turn around applications for concealed carry permit within 24 hours — and word has gotten out.
“I see it as somebody’s constitutional right (to conceal carry). It’s a priority for me to get them through quicker,” Plummer said.
Residents of adjacent counties, like Butler, can go to Montgomery to get their concealed carry permit. His office processed roughly 5,000 new permits last year — more than any other county in the state — and was able to hire a new staffer for the office.
Neighboring Warren County, however, saw a roughly 20 percent decline in the number of permits issued last year. Warren County’s department, however, doesn’t have a full-time staff dedicated to processing permits, Warren County Sheriff Sgt. Brian Hounshell said.
Regional increases in the number of permit holders have kept business steady for Wendy Monroe, the vice president of 22three Inc., a gun store in Lebanon. The gun shop, which even sells concealed carry purses, offers training classes for those seeking their concealed carry permit.
“There’s definitely has been an increase in people wanting training, concealed carry training, specifically,” Monroe said. “We’ve added classes to meet the demand. A lot of people tell me, ‘This has been on my list of things to do for a long time. Now is the time to do it.’”
But those numbers worry Amy Pulles, the Director of the Ohio Coalition Against Gun Violence, which is based in Columbus.
“We do not support the concealed carry of firearms in Ohio. We feel that the public has a right to know who, in their presence, is carrying a firearm,” Pulles said.
Montgomery County was forced to either suspend or revoke the license of roughly 90 carriers last year. Licenses can be revoked when a resident moves out of state or dies, but suspension and revocations can also be the result of a concealed carrier being arrested for certain crimes, such as domestic abuse, or being committed to a mental health facility, for example.
But Michelle Berling, the public affairs officer for West Chester Twp., said one of the law’s biggest benefits is the training requirement for concealed carry gun owners.
Under the Ohio law, concealed carriers must get a combined total of 12 hours gun range and class room training hours before obtaining their license. The average gun owner isn’t required to seek out such training.
“The people who have gone through the class and have the checks done aren’t the ones out there committing the crimes,” Berling said.
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