Here’s another one that is sure to disappoint the anti-gunner lobby. Despite its claims that arming responsible Americans is dangerous, Ohio has shown a much different outcome after it passed legislation allowing permitless carry.

A study published on Wednesday reveals that rates of gun violence decreased substantially after the law was passed in June 2023.

Six of Ohio’s eight largest cities saw less gun crime after the state’s “constitutional carry” law took effect, according to a study published today by the Center for Justice Research, a partnership between the office of Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost and Bowling Green State University.

Beginning June 13, 2022, Ohio became the 23rd state to allow its citizens to carry a concealed weapon without a permit. In the year following, crime involving guns dropped across Ohio’s eight largest cities as a whole and in six of the eight individually.

AG Yost said:

This is not to downplay the very real problem of crime in many neighborhoods in our cities – you don’t need a research team to see that gun violence destroys lives, families and opportunity. The key takeaway from this study is that we have to keep the pressure on the criminals who shoot people, rather than Ohioans who responsibly exercise their Second Amendment rights.

Researchers found that gun crime fell by significant numbers in Ohio’s major cities. In Parma, it dropped by 22 percent. Akron and Toledo saw a decrease of 18 percent. However, the rate did not fall in all cities. Dayton's and Cincinnati’s rates rose by six and five percent, respectively.

In June 2022, AG Yost’s office issued a press release announcing the passage of the Constitutional carry law. Yost acknowledged that Ohio residents “should learn how to handle their firearms from a qualified instructor” and that a “trained citizen is a safe citizen.”

While there are certainly other factors contributing to the decline in gun violence, this data is hard to ignore. It gives substantial weight to the argument that allowing people to exercise their right to keep and bear arms without onerous legislative barriers puts them in a much better position to defend themselves.

The anti-gunners continually trot out the false argument that more guns lead to more crime. But this appears to be crumbling before our very eyes. It is becoming even more clear that when people are better able to defend themselves, they are much safer. Violent criminals typically favor defenseless targets, not ones that might shoot back.

Moreover, it’s always worth remembering that violent criminals have no regard for the gun laws progressives swear will protect the rest of us. Even further, most of them obtain their firearms through means that are already legal, which illustrates how impotent these restrictions are.

This data is encouraging, especially as more states pass Constitutional carry legislation. It seems likely that in the coming years, we will see similar results in these states, even as others like California and New York continue trying to find new and innovative ways to disarm the public. In the end, we will see which approach works best. I’m putting my money on liberty.