Ohioans renewed a record 98,927 licenses to carry concealed handguns last year while the number of new permits declined 10 percent to 69,375.

In Franklin County, the number of new and renewed licenses increased 12 percent to 10,715, according to the annual report for 2018 issued Friday by the office of Attorney General Dave Yost.

The totals for Franklin County, the state's largest in terms of population, were the highest in Ohio at 6,117 new licenses and 4,598 renewals.

Statewide, the figure for new licenses was the lowest since 2014, but renewals — which are required every five years — rose to an all-time high at nearly double the licenses renewed in 2017.

All told, licenses have been renewed 416,903 times since the concealed-carry law was enacted in 2004, but not all of those would still be valid. The state does not keep cumulative statistics on licenses issued.

The number of licenses revoked by county sheriffs, who also issue the licenses, quadrupled in 2018 to 1,879. Law requires concealed-carry licenses to be permanently revoked for conviction of a disqualifying crime or a disability due to mental illness or substance abuse, among other factors.

Sheriffs also suspended 1,738 licenses, a 4 percent increase over 2017. Licenses must be suspended for a holder being charged with certain criminal offenses or being subject to a protection order.

A total of 1,436 requests for concealed-carry licenses were denied — the second-highest number ever — for failing to meet eligibility requirements for a regular or temporary emergency license.

Eight hours of training by a certified instructor, including two hours of range time and live-fire training, and passage of a criminal-background check are required to obtain a concealed-carry license.

New Republican Gov. Mike DeWine has said he favors allowing concealed-carry without the need to obtain a permit.

Former Gov. John Kasich tangled with fellow Republicans in the General Assembly over gun laws late last year, vetoing a bill that included a provision shifting the burden of proof in self-defense cases from the defendant to prosecutors. Lawmakers then overrode Kasich's veto.

Kasich cited “rotten, stinking” politics in the refusal of legislators to pass measures he sought to reduce gun violence, including a “red flag” law to allow judges to order the temporary removal of firearms from a person shown to be a danger to himself or others.

Ohio’s gun-death rate in 2017 was the highest since state-by-state numbers were compiled beginning in 1999, according to federal figures released in December.

Of the 1,589 gun deaths in Ohio, 918 were by suicide, and 621 were homicides. In addition, 19 people died in accidental shootings, and 21 died from “legal intervention” — shootings by police. Ten gun deaths were unclassified.

rludlow@dispatch.com

@RandyLudlow