Local counties among Ohio leaders for new gun licenses

More than 110,000 concealed carry handgun licenses were issued or renewed in Ohio in 2014, according to a report issued by state Attorney General Mike DeWine. Counties in the Greater Cincinnati area also issued more licenses than most.

Data provided by Ohio's county sheriffs showed 58,066 new licences were issued in Ohio in 2014 while 52,146 licences were renewed.

Fifty-seven temporary licenses were also issued for a grand total of 110,212, according to the report from DeWine's office.

Hamilton County issued more concealed carry licenses than most Ohio counties, as did Clermont and Butler. Hamilton County Sheriff Jim Neil's office reported 2,434 new licences - the fourth most in the state.

Top 15 Ohio counties for new concealed carry licences

1. Lake County - 3,748 new licenses (1,853 renewed)

2. Franklin County - 3,696 (2,770 renewed)

3. Montgomery County - 2,798 (2,258 renewed)

4. Hamilton County - 2,434 (1,918 renewed)

5. Clermont County - 1,773 (2,361 renewed)

6. Butler County - 1,750 (2,293 renewed)

7. Mahoning County - 1,494 (686 renewed)

8. Wayne County - 1,435 (1,058 renewed)

9. Warren County - 1,410 (1,707 renewed)

10. Summit County - 1,353 (1,973 renewed)

11. Madison County - 1, 338 (884 renewed)

12. Cuyahoga County - 1,313 (1,340 renewed)

13. Wood County - 1,231 (798 renewed)

14. Lorain County - 1,228 (1,116 renewed)

15. Licking County - 1,144 (882 renewed)

The report also said 1,412 licenses were suspended in 2014. Last year was the fifth consecutive year in which the quantity of suspensions increased.

Suspensions occur when a license holder has been arrested or charged with certain offenses or if the licensee is the subject of a protection order issued by a court, according to the annual report on concealed carry handgun licences release by DeWine's office.

These numbers might seem high, however, the quantity of new licenses issued in 2014 was down considerably from 2013 when 96,972 new licenses were issued.

State laws require county sheriffs to report concealed handgun license statistics to the Ohio Peace Officer Training Commission within the Ohio Attorney General's Office, the release said.

The release from the DeWine's office, as well as the annual report, does not account for the population of respective counties relative to the quantities of concealed carry handgun licenses.