Pro-Second Amendment voices have long claimed that constitutional carry is a benefit for society because it allows more armed citizens to be on the streets. After all, such laws remove all the barriers one can think of that might stop a law-abiding citizen from carrying a firearm.

Since the bad guys are already carrying guns regardless of the law, constitutional carry makes it so the good guys can too.

That point was aptly illustrated recently in Texas.

An armed robber was shot in the face in Texas when his victim pulled out his own gun and shot at him, just days after a Texas law went into effect allowing residents to carry handguns without permits.

“He was shot in the face one time. He’s at the hospital. He’s going to live. He’s conscious and breathing right now,” Houston Police Department Lieutenant R. Willkens said.

The incident unfolded Wednesday evening in Houston when the victim was walking to a local Shell gas station to make a few purchases, SBG San Antonio reported.

The suspect in the case was dropped off around the same time, and approached the victim by lifting his shirt to expose a gun and demanded he fork over any valuables.

The victim, however, was also armed and pulled out his weapon and shot the suspect in the face. The suspect is in the hospital and in police custody.

Nice.

Of course, to be fair, we don’t know that the armed citizen was only able to lawfully carry because of constitutional carry in the state. He may well have had a permit previously and would have been able to defend himself regardless of the legislation.

But what we do see is that an armed citizen was able to defend himself from a threat and go home to his family. That’s a win any way you want to cut it.

The good guy prevailed and the bad guy didn’t. That’s what we want to see.

And with constitutional carry, we’re likely to see a lot more of it.

See, what people need to remember is that by passing constitutional carry, Texas went from requiring training and a permit–all at a cost some people might not have been able to afford–and went straight into recognizing a constitutionally protected right to keep and bear arms. That means anyone with a gun lawfully can be an armed citizen.

That also means criminals will start having to account for this fact when they try and select their prey.

I honestly think a lot will start rethinking their life choices when a few of their buddies end up in the hospital with serious wounds or in the morgue. No one wants to die, especially not over the few dollars someone may have in their wallet. Once they realize that has become a real risk, they’ll likely find something else to do.

Armed citizens, contrary to what the anti-Second Amendment crowd claims, make everyone safer. It really is just that simple.

I’d be willing to bet this robber is one person who won’t be trying to rob anyone ever again, that’s for sure.