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The government tried the gun ban before with the Brady Bill and it was proven that it didn't work. The crime rate didn't go down, Miller said.

"You don't ban spoons because I've got a belly. They didn't ban knives after O.J. [Simpson]'s wife [was killed]," he said.

The National Rifle Association made its first public statements Tuesday after a self-imposed media blackout. In its statement, the organization said its members were, quoting, "shocked, saddened and heartbroken by the news of the horrific and senseless murders."

The group also said it wanted to give families time to mourn before making its first public statements. The organization pledged "to help to make sure this never happens again" and has scheduled a Friday news conference.

According to the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives' figures from March, there are 108,574 licensed weapons in Ohio. There are nearly 3.2 million registered weapons nationally.

In addition, the Ohio Attorney General's office reported that in the third quarter this year, 158 people received concealed-carry licenses in Columbiana County, 26 licenses were renewed, two were suspended and one was denied.

In Mahoning County, 119 licenses were issued, 58 renewed, four suspended, one revoked and one denied. Trumbull County had 235 people issued concealed-carry licenses, 71 renewed, and nine licenses were suspended.

Statewide, for the quarter, 13,949 concealed-carry licenses were issued, 3,447 renewed, 281 suspended, 547 revoked and 200 licenses denied.

The statewide figures represent an increase over previous quarters.

The state has seen a growing number of people getting concealed-carry permits over the past few years, according to information from the Buckeye Firearms Association.

Dick's Sporting Goods released a statement explaining its decision to suspend gun sales.

"We are extremely saddened by the unspeakable tragedy that occurred last week in Newtown, Conn., and our hearts go out to the victims and their families, and to the entire community," according to the company statement. "Out of respect for the victims and their families, during this time of national mourning we have removed all guns from sale and from display in our store nearest to Newtown and suspended the sale of modern sporting rifles in all of our stores chain-wide."

Dick's Sporting Goods did not provide any indication of how long gun sales will be suspended.

Cerberus Capital Management plans to sell its controlling stake in Freedom Group International, which makes Bushmaster rifles, one of the weapons that was used to kill elementary school children in Newtown. Cerberus representatives called Friday's tragedy a "watershed event" in the debate over gun control.

Investors also continued to bail out of other gunmakers as shares in publicly traded gun makers dropped for a third day.

Shares of Sturm, Ruger & Co. dropped $3.74, or 8.5 percent, to $40.26 in afternoon trading Tuesday. They're down more than 10 percent since Thursday, the day before the shooting. Shares of Smith & Wesson Holding Corp. fell 11 percent to $7.70, and are down 19.3 percent from their Thursday close.

The activity comes as the political winds appear to be shifting. Some Republicans now say they're willing to discuss the issue of gun control -- along with mental health issues and violent video games.

Associated Press reports contributed to this story.

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Distributed by MCT Information Services