If you like gun rights, constitutional freedoms, and just all-around good public policy, then your 2023 is off to a great start!

Of course, Business Insider is super angry about it, because it's all those conservative states like [checks notes] New York, California, and Illinois where all the crime and murder keep happening.

With the start of the new year, it became significantly easier for Alabamians to legally carry guns.

The state passed a law last year allowing people to carry concealed handguns without state permits, a change that went into effect on January 1.

The law signaled a gun rights landmark for the US: Now, half of the 50 states allow people to carry handguns without permits.

In case you're not familiar with it, this is a policy known as "constitutional carry," and it's a major plank for gun-rights activists:

Constitutional carry means that the state's law does not prohibit citizens who can legally possess a firearm from carrying handguns, (openly and/or in a concealed manner) thus no state permit is required.

Anti-gun activists tend to flip out about this policy; they're often convinced that it will lead to mass shootings, Wild West-style shootouts, and other horrendous gun violence incidents.

In actuality, when law-abiding citizens are allowed to responsibly carry weapons to defend themselves and their families from mass-murdering psychopaths, you get situations like Indiana this last July, where a perp with an AR was stopped by a guy two weeks after constitutional carry became the law:

Lefties and uninformed people (I repeat myself) think that passing gun laws will stop criminals who care squat about laws from carrying guns.

If you need some schooling, please enjoy the viral video of based black American Mark Robinson, whose passionate speech about gun laws propelled him to become North Carolina's first black lieutenant governor.

Meanwhile, it looks like we're well on the way to a full majority of U.S. states allowing constitutional carry:

A western Nebraska lawmaker made good Thursday on his promise to bring back a bill that would allow Nebraskans to carry concealed weapons without a permit.

State Sen. Tom Brewer of Gordon introduced Legislative Bill 77 during the first day of bill introduction for the legislative session. He expressed optimism that the proposal will land on friendlier ground this year.

There's never been a better time for the right to keep and bear arms in our lifetimes.