Now consider this statistic: Concealed handgun permit holders have killed 107 people since 2007. That news, from the Violence Policy Center in Washington, D.C., sounds pretty bad until you put it in context. How many Americans have been issued a permit to carry a concealed weapon? The Violence Policy Center doesn't say. And it's probably impossible to pin down a precise number, because records are kept on a state by state basis, and reporting criteria differ from state to state. But NRA estimates put the number in the neighborhood of 5 million, as of a couple of years ago. (The NRA adds that permit applications have jumped 50 percent since the 2008 elections which seems borne out at least here in Virginia. At present there are 211,435 active permits in the commonwealth. Just this year, Virginia courts have granted more than 62,000.) If that's true, then the percentage of concealed carry permit holders who have killed someone with a firearm comes to two one thousandths of 1 percent.
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Gun control advocates play fast and loose
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