Do you know how many of your neighbors have a license to carry a concealed weapon?
No? That’s because Ohio keeps those records private.
The state releases a quarterly report of all the concealed carry licenses issued, renewed and suspended by county, but that’s as far as the breakdown goes. Information by city or zip code is not available.
Representatives from the Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Office and the Summit County Sheriff’s Office told Patch, in response to a request to examine both counties' permit records, via email that the Ohio Revised Code allows journalists to view the list of license holders, but not to copy the information.
In May, Patch reviewed the list of permit holders in Portage County and found that, at the time, 11 percent of the 5,269 people legally allowed to carry a concealed weapon in Portage County listed a Kent address.
Ohio law defines the records as confidential. Journalists are the only individuals named in that portion of the law who are allowed to view the records and are defined as those employed by or otherwise connected to a news medium.
Not all states protect their gun permit holders’ privacy so well—a New York-based newspaper, The Journal News, recently sparked a debate when it published a map with the names and addresses of gun owners in nearby counties. The Huffington Post reports that critics said the map could put people with—and without—guns in danger.
has formed in opposition to the newspaper’s map, saying it puts residents at risk. One of the examples given was that inmates in local jails now know the addresses of corrections officers.
The numbers in Ohio
A total 290 people were issued concealed carry licenses in Portage County in the third quarter of 2012, according to the state. Of those, 44 licenses were renewed, none were revoked or suspended and two applications were denied.
According to the report released by the state, there were 560 regular concealed carry licenses issued and 208 renewed in Cuyahoga County in the third quarter of 2012. There were nine licenses suspended, 13 revoked and another 11 denied.
In Summit County, there were 354 licenses issued and 107 renewed during that time. Ten licenses were suspended and 17 were denied.
Overall, there were 13,949 regular licenses issued across Ohio in the third quarter of 2012. Another 3,447 were renewed.
The most recent annual report from the state is for 2011. According to the report, the state had issued about 296,600 regular and temporary concealed carry licenses from April 2004—when the state began allowing concealed weapons—through the end of 2011. The reports do not include the number of total active licenses.
What do you think? Should the state release more information about concealed carry license holders or is privacy critical in this case? Tell us in the comments.
However Who, Why, When and how should be private info only available to LEO's
Also, if you publish a list of armed indivuals and criminals now know who to avoid. It would be like having every gun owner place a sign on their front door saying "my neighbor is an easier target."
Most people applying for a ccw these days are SCARED. I'm not.
Do you have a drivers license? Someone can look that up. What if that someone wants to steal a car? They'll know you most likely own one since you have a drivers license. Oh, the humanity.
People are just nosy as hell and need to mind their own business.
I think letting everyone know through public record who the nuts are who run around with guns strapped to their bodies is a good deal. You can find out an awful lot through Ohio's public record laws. From licenses, titles, leins, who owns what in the county, criminal offenses, etc., it's all out there for the picking. Anything you post onto the internet, same deal. Public. And again, why are those with guns so afraid? What are you afriad of? When was the last time you needed a gun? When was the last time you used it to "protect" yourself by killing another human being with a gun? Why are you so sure you'll need to?