COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – It has been one year since Ohio loosened its concealed carry weapon law, and community advocates, elected officials and law enforcement alike are reflecting on the changing gun landscape.

A year ago on Tuesday, Gov. Mike DeWine signed into law Senate Bill 215, which eliminated a concealed carry permit requirement for adult Ohioans who are legally eligible to own and carry a firearm in the state.

Opponents of the law, including the Fraternal Order of Police, argue that Ohio’s streets are less safe – and so are its law enforcement – because of it. But supporters say it is working exactly as it was originally intended: to remove a barrier toward self-defense and reduce the government’s role in regulating a constitutionally-protected right.

Fewer Ohioans applying for permits

In the first three months of 2023, the state of Ohio issued 4,200 concealed carry handgun licenses – a nearly 80% decline from the number of licenses approved during the same period in 2018, according to data from the attorney general’s office.

The No. 1 reason gun owners continue to apply for a brand-new permit or renew an existing one is to maintain their ability to carry a concealed weapon in 38 other states that accept an Ohio permit, according to Major Steven Tucker with the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office.

“Most residents continue to renew for this reason, as well as simply stating since they already have the permit, they may as well just keep renewing it,” Tucker said in an email.

While fewer are applying for new permits, local sheriff’s offices across Ohio continue to deny or suspend license holders, primarily those with criminal convictions. In the first quarter of the year, Ohio sheriffs suspended 351 licenses, revoked 74 others and denied 95 applications.

Although the act of revoking or suspending a license “might appear meaningless” since permits are no longer mandatory, Tucker said doing so serves as a way to inform nonqualifying residents that they will be criminally charged if caught with a concealed weapon.

“For those who travel and enjoy reciprocity, the permit being suspended revokes their right to carry in the other 38 states,” he said.

Concealed carry permit out, new policing policy in

In the year since Ohio’s permitless carry law took effect, some critics of the legislation, including the state’s Fraternal Order of Police, argue that it has stripped law enforcement of an added layer of protection during an era of gun proliferation.

When permits were required, officers could quickly determine whether a resident was armed with a concealed weapon, the FOP’s director of governmental affairs Michael Weinman said. Today, it’s more challenging for police to identify an illegal weapon and charge someone for owning it, he said.

“It’s become very unsafe. It was unsafe before; it’s unsafe now with the number of guns out there. Look at how many they recovered in the Short North – something like 11,” Weinman said. “It’s tough not having that tool with you anymore.”

Because the permitless carry law eliminated a requirement that Ohioans “promptly inform” law enforcement if they’re in possession of a concealed firearm, Franklin County Sheriff Chief Deputy Jim Gilbert said his office adopted a new policy: During every traffic stop, deputies must immediately ask the motorist whether they are carrying a firearm.

Though he and his deputies support Ohioans’ right to bear arms, Gilbert said permitless carry has made patrolling the streets a bit more challenging. Deputies have to ask more questions while encountering a person, who may in a split-second go from legally exercising their right to carry a firearm to becoming an active shooter or assailant.

“It’s a fine line we walk because that person could be a felon, but they’re not walking around with a sign on their back that says, ‘I’m a convicted felon; I’m not allowed to have this gun,’” Gilbert said. “It becomes a touch-and-go (situation) with us.”

How might permitless carry affect gun crime?

No conclusive research yet exists about the effects of permitless carry on gun crime in Ohio specifically, but a September 2022 study by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health found firearm assaults rose about 10% in states that relaxed restrictions on concealed carry weapons.

After a free gun lock giveaway in Columbus on Thursday, Mayor Andrew Ginther told NBC4 that the state legislators are adopting “the most reckless and dangerous” gun policy ever seen in Ohio – including permitless carry – that contributes to the proliferation of guns on the street.

“Somewhere, we have lost our way, and we have decided that guns are more important than people,” Ginther said. “That’s wrong.”

But Dean Rieck, executive director of the Buckeye Firearms Association, said he doesn’t buy the argument that loosening regulations on concealed carry weapons results in a spike in crime.

“It’s the criminals who are doing that; it’s not the law-abiding folks who would otherwise get a license,” he said.

Thomas Cunningham, owner of the Columbus-based Onyx Gun Club, said he supports the state’s permitless carry law but wishes there was some way to hold gun owners accountable for getting properly trained in carrying, using and storing a firearm.

With a permit – and its subsequent eight hours of firearm training – no longer required to carry a concealed weapon, Ohio gun owners can choose for themselves whether to attend a firearm class. That could lead to unintended tragedy or a criminal charge, Cunningham said.

“A lot of people carry a firearm who have absolutely no training whatsoever,” he said. “I know of at least two incidents where someone tried to draw from their holster and shot themselves. They don’t know anything about proper storage of a firearm, keeping it away from children, etcetera.”

Rhonda Clayborn, a volunteer with the violence prevention group Mothers of Murdered Columbus Children, agreed. Owning a gun comes with great responsibility, she said.

“You have to have a permit to drive, to fish,” Clayborn said. “Go out and try and fish and they catch you (without a permit) – you will get ticketed. To not have a permit to carry something that could easily take your life is crazy to me.”

Although Rieck said training is “always a good thing,” mandating training is a governmental overreach that interferes with the constitutionally-protected right to bear arms. And unlike other privileges that require a permit, like driving and fishing, owning a gun is a right and thus shouldn’t be held to the same standard.

Enacting permitless carry simply means that Ohioans are no longer forced to reach into their pocketbooks and undergo hours of training in order to exercise their constitutionally-protected right to bear arms and defend themselves, Rieck said.

“We need to be very careful about laws so that they’re not infringing on those rights,” he said. “You don’t have those kinds of (permitting) requirements for any other rights – only for the Second Amendment.”

State Sen. Terry Johnson (R-McDermott), who sponsored Senate Bill 215, did not return a request for comment.