COLUMBUS — Six of Ohio’s eight largest cities, including Columbus, witnessed less gun crime after the state’s “constitutional carry” law took effect in 2022, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said.
According to a study by the Center for Justice Research, a partnership between the office of Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost and Bowling Green State University, crime involving guns dropped across Ohio’s eight largest cities as a whole in the year following the adoption of the law allowing citizens to carry a concealed weapon without a permit,
and in six of the eight individually.
Using data from gunshot-detection technology the study reported a 20.6% drop in gun crimes per 1,000 residents in Columbus, from 10.79 before the law changed to 9.55 afterward (see above).
In 2022, Ohio became the 23rd state to eliminate concealed-carry permit requirements. Researchers analyzed data spanning from June 2021 to June 2023 – a year before and a year after the law took effect.
“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,” said Yost, who took issue with mayors of several large cities who blamed the change for crime in their cities.
In addition to Columbus, the study showed declines in the number of crimes involving firearms in Parma (22%), Akron and Toledo (18%) and across all eight cities combined.
Rates for Dayton and Cincinnati increased by 6% and 5%.