Politico noted that “An uptick in crime over the last two years, coupled with a spike in Republican-sponsored TV ads attacking Democrats on public safety, has pushed the issue to the forefront of the midterms,” and that “Mentions of crime in GOP TV ads doubled over the last month to 18 percent of all Republican ads launched in that time, according to an analysis by AdImpact, an ad-tracking firm.”

This has motivated Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund, an anti-gunner group founded by former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, to begin testing messaging that would link anti-gun measures to crime and public safety. “The results showed that putting that lens over gun safety issues boosted support for Democratic candidates, not only among the party base but among traditional swing voters the party needs to keep governorships and Senate and House seats this year,” according to the report.

The new strategy is intended “to reset that narrative” on which Democrats have typically lost, according to Charlie Kelly, a senior political adviser to Everytown.

“The fear tactics that they had success with in 2020, I don’t think will work this time around,” Kelly elaborated. “We actually are the ones that are tough on these issues, and we need to be more vocal about it.”

Some of these folks believe they can use this messaging to reach gun owners who might be more amenable to less-intrusive gun control laws. Maxwell Frost, a House candidate in Florida, said that it is “all about turning it on its head, calling out the hypocrisy.”

“We are not gun-grabbing liberals,” he said. “Yes, we want reform, but so do NRA members. There’s a disconnect between the public and the [Republican] rhetoric, and I am trying to call it out.”

It’s going to be a tough mountain to climb for Democrats, who are still trying to shake off the stigma of the “Defund the Police” movement, which contributed to surging rates of violent crime over the past two years. The prevalence of woke district attorneys who are more set on keeping violent criminals on the street than protecting civilians is also an issue. An NBC News poll revealed that the GOP has a 23-point advantage when it comes to which party voters trust more on crime.

“Any time you mention crime or public safety, the advantage for Republicans is significant every time,” according to Robert Blizzard, a Republican pollster. “If I were a Democrat, I don’t think I would try to make the 2022 races about crime and public safety unless I absolutely had to.”

Of course, the notion that gun control is somehow anti-crime is laughable when one knows the facts. Several studies show that firearms are far more often used to defend life and property than they are to commit violent crimes. A study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that between 1996 and 1998, 2.46 million adults in the U.S. used a gun for self-defense. Other studies have yielded similar results.

Even further, the vast majority of gun crime is committed using firearms that were obtained illegally. This means gun control laws did nothing to prevent these illegal acts. This puts the lie to the notion that passing more gun control laws will somehow lower the violent crime rate. In fact, it could further increase it.

Preventing people from obtaining the means by which they can defend themselves is clearly not the answer because it only benefits those who wish to commit violent acts. Therefore, it is absolutely absurd to pretend gun control is anti-crime. If anything, these are some of the most pro-crime policies one could consider.