Did Ohio Law Allowing Permitless Gun Carrying Affect Crime Rate?

A new report found that gun violence in Ohio has decreased since a controversial firearm law took effect. Police warn it does not tell the full story. Gun owners in Ohio were able to carry a firearm legally without a permit as of June 2022. Police and gun safety advocates testified that the measure could cause an increase in gun violence. The new study from the attorney general’s office and Bowling Green State University shows police were wrong about fears of increased crimes, said Rob Sexton of the Buckeye Firearms Association. "This latest study on permitless carry demonstrates yet again that you can trust law-abiding people,” Sexton said. The Center for Justice Research report took data from Ohio’s eight largest cities and analyzed crimes related to firearms, verified gunshot-detection alerts, and the number of law enforcement officers shot. The report, initiated by Attorney General Dave Yost, concluded that Ohio saw less gun crime after the law went into effect, Ohio Capital Journal reports.

The cities of Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Toledo, Akron, Dayton, Parma and Canton, found a decrease in the rate of gun crime by as much as 22%. The data don’t tell the full story, the Fraternal Order of Police’s Brian Steel said. “We also had an all-time (high) homicide rate — Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati combined,” Steel said. Researchers analyzed data from June 2021 to June 2023. Pandemic gun violence was unique and peaked like never before, so a decrease would be is natural for a decrease, Steel explained. Firearm deaths have steadily increased since 2012. Yes, 2023 crime did go down, but it’s about the same as 2019, which police say is a much more comparable year. The city of Cleveland is criticizing the gun rights groups’ analysis. “This is a classic case of confusing correlation with causation,” city spokesperson Tyler Sinclair said “Violent crime trends were down across the nation last year, not just here in Ohio.” This was confirmed by nonpartisan organization Council on Criminal Justice. The report lacks the “depth of analysis” required to clarify whether the permitless carry law actually prevented crime, Sinclair said.