The media is absolutely awash in reports of anti-Asian hate crimes. Over and over again, we’re told that Asian-Americans are being targeted for various crimes due to their ethnicity.

Of course, data seems to be in short supply. Yes, Asians do seem to be getting targeted for some criminal activity, but it remains to be seen whether it’s because they’re Asian or because of some other factor.

Regardless, a lot of Asian-Americans have decided they’re not going to take any chances, and that means that gun control activists are unhappy.

Some Asian Americans are buying guns for the first time as attacks fuel fear across the nation, but advocates say firearms are not the solution.

“I know firsthand that guns don’t make us safe,” said Po Murray, the chairwoman of Newtown Action Alliance, a national grassroots gun violence prevention group formed after the 2012 Sandy Hook shooting.

“It is a common myth that a good guy with a gun will keep us safe from a bad guy with a gun,” Murray added.

Murray and other Asian American activists across the country are concerned that people seeking a sense of security are opting to buy guns. Meanwhile, a new group wants to help Asians learn how to handle and shoot handguns if they so choose.

The increased interest in carrying guns and the debate over whether firearms will help prevent violence comes as the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community continues being harassed, threatened and violently assaulted.

Of course, Murray is completely wrong. Not having a gun when you need one makes us unsafe. People being so afraid of guns they won’t let people talk openly about firearm education makes us unsafe. Pretending that becoming a victim somehow makes you morally superior makes people unsafe.

Look, having a firearm won’t necessarily prevent a hate crime. In and of itself, it probably won’t.

What it will do, however, is make it so the target of a hate crime can fight back and protect themselves or others from such an act.

Frankly, the idea that not having a firearm is some ideal situation still baffles me. How can you scream about an influx of racially motivated attacks and still somehow think it’s a bad thing for people in that same ethnic group to not get a firearm for self-defense? It literally makes no sense.

But, then again, this is gun control for you. These are the people who think they have the right ideas about firearms.

They say they only want to keep guns out of the hands of criminals, but this makes it clear they don’t want anyone buying a firearm. These are potential victims, not crooks, and they’re telling Asian-Americans not to buy guns despite also believing there is a huge influx of hate crimes against Asian-Americans.

They don’t want anyone armed. They’re hoplophobes, plain and simple, and now the jig is up.

I, for one, welcome these new Asian-American gun owners and hope they seek out adequate training and recognize that training is a life-long commitment. Hell, if they’re in my neck of the woods, I’d love to hit the range with them someday.

Assuming, of course, any of us can find ammo.