By Janice Morse
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Ted Pitts of Madison Township reads a booklet while awaiting an interview as part of the application process to get a concealed-carry permit from the Butler County sheriff on Thursday. The Cincinnati Enquirer/GLENN HARTONG

As an armored truck driver, Ted Pitts has carried a gun on his job for years.

"But as far as your personal safety, off the job, you have no protection," Pitts, 57, said of his decision to apply for a license to carry a concealed gun.

Pitts, of Madison Township, was one of 61 people who went to the Butler County Sheriff's Office on Thursday, the first day the state's 88 county sheriffs could begin processing concealed-carry applications. Ohio law gives sheriff's offices 45 days to finish background checks and determine if an applicant meets the criteria to be issued a license.

In Butler County, some permit-seekers were waiting in lawn chairs outside the sheriff's headquarters in Hamilton as early as 6:30 a.m. - 90 minutes before office workers could start taking the applications. Demand for the permit applications was less intense in Clermont, Warren and Hamilton counties. But authorities said they were continuing to field questions and take dozens of phone calls.

"It's 50 years overdue," said Donald Scharnhorst, 50, a Hamilton businessman, as he rolled his thumb over an electronic fingerprint-scanner. "A lot of other states have let people do this for years. I don't see what the big problem has been here in Ohio.''

Ohio is the 46th state to pass a law allowing residents to apply for a permits or licenses to not only own guns but to carry them concealed in most public places, said Kim Norris, spokeswoman for the Ohio Attorney General's Office. Carrying a gun in government buildings, in schools, day-care centers and some other public areas remains illegal.

Although area sheriff's offices reported a fairly smooth launch of the new procedures, there remained some confusion, authorities said.

"I think it's been busy for some time,'' Norris said of calls and questions coming into the Attorney General's Office. "(Thursday) was not as busy as it has been over the last few weeks."

Police in Monroe said they put up signs telling would-be applicants that their office cannot accept applications and directed them to the sheriff's office.

Each county has established its own procedure for processing applications. Some require applicants to bring their own 2-by-2-inch photograph with them when they apply, while others were taking applicants' pictures Thursday.

Butler and Clermont counties were taking applications on a walk-in basis, but Hamilton and Warren counties were setting appointments by telephone.

Clermont County sheriff's workers started taking applications at 8:30 a.m., and about 70 applicants arrived within the first hour. The office will accept applications 24 hours a day.

"It wasn't quite as severe as some of us expected," Sheriff A.J. Rodenberg said.

Joanne Ingram, Warren County sheriff's administrative secretary, spent much of Thursday setting appointments for 102 applicants, spread out over the next several weeks.

In Hamilton County, 15 applicants were scheduled to come in Thursday; another 20 were expected to show up today. More than 150 people had made appointments, which are expected to take between 15 and 20 minutes, as applicants turn in their firearms training certificates, answer questions, and are fingerprinted and photographed.

"It's going smoothly," said Steve Barnett, Hamilton County sheriff's spokesman. "It's going to grow a little bit each day."

Butler County sheriff's workers will accept walk-in candidates daily, but in groups of about 30 at a time, which is the capacity of the sheriff's waiting area.

In the midst of the crowd, Butler County Sheriff's Chief Deputy Richard K. Jones chatted with the applicants:

"I want to be friends with these people,'' he joked. "They're all going to be carrying guns."

Jane Prendergast contributed. E-mail jmorse@enquirer.com