By Jack Walsworthjwalsworth@enquirer.com

A new Ohio bill would allow non-residents to get a concealed carry license if they work in Ohio.

Introduced by State Sen. Joe Uecker, R-Miami Township, S.B. 338 would also:

• Eliminate the 45-day waiting period that a person must go through to establish residency to get a concealed handgun license.

• Reduce the number of training hours required to get the license from 12 to eight.

• Make a person ineligible for a concealed handgun license if he or she has an out-of-state license that has been suspended for a reason that would suspend a license in Ohio.

Uecker did not return several phone calls.

According to the Columbus Dispatch, the bill would eliminate the provision of the state law that prohibits firearms in government-owned public facilities. That would include Paul Brown Stadium and Great American Ball Park, both owned by Hamilton County.

The Cincinnati Bengals declined to comment on the bill. Messages left for the Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday were not returned.

Jim Irvine, chairman of Buckeye Firearms Association, called it “a good bill...It’s good common sense that addresses real problems.”

The Ohio Coalition Against Gun Violence is opposed to the bill.

“We don’t like it,” said coalition founder Toby Hoover. “We’ll oppose it and hope it doesn’t go through.”

The bill’s first hearing will be Wednesday.

Compared to a record year of new concealed handgun licenses issued in Ohio, numbers released for the first quarter of 2014 were lackluster.

Ohioans were issued 16,205 new concealed handgun licenses in the first three months of 2014 — nearly half the number issued in the same months last year, according to Ohio Attorney General’s Office numbers released Tuesday.

However, the number of licenses issued was buoyed by renewals — 15,832 between January and March compared to 6,354 renewals during the first three months of 2013.

Ohio sheriffs issued more nearly 97,000 new licenses last year. The number of new concealed carry licenses has increased each year since 2010, but 2013 was a significant spike, according to concealed carry statistics.

April 8, 2014 marked the 10-year anniversary of concealed handgun licenses in Ohio. The move was approved by the Ohio legislature and modified over the decade, often eliminating gun-free areas or simplifying the steps to obtain a license.

Jessie Balmert, Gannett Ohio