Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine isn’t the strongest supporter of the Second Amendment and most of us know it. After all, he’s been trying to push his own gun control bill for quite some time, which isn’t really something you do if you’re vehemently pro-gun.

However, I have to give him credit. When it was time to step up and sign constitutional carry, he did it. I’d like to say he didn’t even hesitate, but I don’t have any evidence to support that. I will say, however, that DeWine didn’t spend a lot of time considering it, at least.

Yet for some, that was the wrong move.

“If we do these things, it will matter.”

Words spoken almost three years ago in the wake of the Dayton shootings that killed nine and wounded 27. Words spoken as Gov. Mike DeWine rolled out a laundry list of proposals intended to curb gun deaths.

Words that now ring hollow.

When DeWine signed Senate Bill 215 into law on Monday –  allowing Ohio residents 21 and older to conceal firearms they are legally allowed to own without training or permits – he sent a message that the lives lost in Dayton’s Oregon District, along with others taken by gun violence, didn’t matter.

How?

The killer in Dayton was a deranged man with a drug addiction who took an AR-15 out and slaughtered people. He didn’t have a permit to carry concealed despite it being required in the state at that time, so just how does this law signal anything negative about those lives?

Especially since there are many who argue that constitutional carry will actually save lives.

While some of the violence we’re seeing is bad people killing other bad people, a lot of it is innocent people who are shot and killed for any number of reasons. They’re law-abiding folks who don’t deserve to die, yet they’re gunned down by evil people.

Constitutional carry means these folks, particularly those who know someone is gunning for them, can carry a firearm for protection without jumping through hoops. They can get a gun, carry it, and meet any threat.

In time, if enough bad actors get shot trying to hurt the good guys, their buddies will get the message.

That will do more to save lives than any restrictions on law-abiding citizens ever could. That’s because restricting the rights of the law-abiding does nothing to inhibit the criminals that, you know, actually kill people.

DeWine was right to sign the bill. By doing so, he did far more to curb violent crime in his state than any editorial ever could.

Unfortunately, the media will never acknowledge their mistake. They’ll keep doubling down every chance they get, all in hopes that you won’t forget.

The problem is, we don’t have to remember. The default for pretty much all of the media with a few notable exceptions is that they’re vehemently anti-gun and will remain so for as long as they possibly can.

Remembering who is your enemy when everyone in a certain group has already identified themselves as enemies isn’t difficult.