Downtown Youngstown has become the Mecca for Northeast Ohio gun owners as they seek to obtain or renew permits to carry a concealed weapon.

A long line of people can be seen outside the Mahoning County Sheriff’s Office as people wait to fill out the paperwork for their CCW permit.

It’s been that way since Monday when the Sheriff opened the permit process to walk-in applicants.  Up until then, people had to make an appointment ahead of time.

People are coming from other parts of the state because sheriff’s departments in other Northeast Ohio counties are processing CCW permits by appointment only.

21 News checked around and found that that the earliest appointments available in nearby areas were October 21 in Ashtabula County and November 23 in Columbiana County.

Departments in Trumbull, Geauga, Stark, Portage, Lake, and Cuyahoga Counties aren’t taking appointments until early next year.

To ease the crunch, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine signed a bill granting permit holders a 90-day extension to renew for as long as December 1, 2020.