The anti-Second Amendment lobby is at it yet again. This time, the Violence Policy Center (VPC) is trotting out findings which allegedly show that since 2007, there have been 2,541 “non-self-defense deaths” associated with individuals who hold concealed carry permits. This isn’t the first time the gun-grabbers have besmirched concealed carry permit holders, and it won’t be the last.

The VPC claims, “Concealed handgun permit holders are responsible for at least 2,541 deaths not involving self-defense since 2007, according to the Violence Policy Center’s (VPC) ongoing Concealed Carry Killers (concealedcarrykillers.org) project, an online resource that provides examples of non-self defense killings involving private citizens with permits to carry concealed handguns in public.”

Of course, 2,500 sounds like a sizable number — except that it represents 18 years of data. Thus, broken down by year, the total comes out to 141 annually. NRA instructor John Petrolino did a little more math: “Looking at VPC’s alleged 2,541 non-self defense ‘killings,’ and contrast that to the 21.46 million concealed carry holders, you get a rate of .012% across 18 years, or 0.000657036% annually.”

Another number that merits attention: 1,505. That’s how many of those 2,541 deaths were suicides, which is totally different than criminal homicide.

Those deaths may be tragic, but in a nation of over 330 million people, they fail to justify the need for serious policy consideration, let alone any action.

If there are any questions as to the VPC’s views on firearms, the group’s founder, Josh Sugarmann, laid out its public-messaging strategy way back in 1988:

Assault weapons — just like armor-piercing bullets, machine guns, and plastic firearms — are a new topic. The weapons’ menacing looks, coupled with the public’s confusion over fully automatic machine guns versus semi-automatic assault weapons — anything that looks like a machine gun is assumed to be a machine gun — can only increase the chance of public support for restrictions on these weapons. In addition, few people can envision a practical use for these weapons.

It’s clear that VCP exists to limit Americans’ access to firearms, not protect and further that right.

So, why is VCP trotting out these rather insignificant and misleading claims now? It has everything to do with the Republican-controlled Congress looking to enshrine concealed carry reciprocity nationwide as the law of the land.

As VCP states, “This latest update comes as legislation endorsed by the gun lobby and firearms industry has been introduced in the U.S. House (H.R. 38) and Senate (S. 65) to allow individuals with state-issued concealed firearm permits to carry their weapons in any state that issues carry permits or does not prohibit the carrying of concealed firearms.” To Second Amendment defenders, that sounds great. To VPC Government Affairs Director Kristen Rand, it’s “the latest pro-gun assault on public safety.”

The VCP is trying to create the false narrative that concealed carry permit holders are dangerous and that expanding concealed carry across the nation will only make people less safe. The truth is exactly the opposite.

The primary reason for concealed carry is protection and safety. Indeed, data has shown that when firearm ownership expands, crime decreases. That makes perfect sense since would-be criminals are forced to think twice about whether the target of their criminal aims might be armed.