An old woman with a gun shoots and kills two home invaders who have been on a spree and themselves killed several people, raping and beating and robbing many more.
Do those gun deaths count against civilian gun ownership or for it?
The NRA publishes stories like this all the time.
However many or few they are, they show a valid point.
Not all gun deaths are arguments against civilian ownership of guns.
Some gun deaths count in favor of it.
For some people to be shot to death is every bit as much a public benefit whether they are shot by civilians or police in some daring rescue.
Far from being losses, their deaths are public benefactions and result in worthwhile savings of the costs of prosecution and imprisonment.
So, "gun deaths" is not really the statistic we want to minimize or, if we do, then not all of them in the same way.
Sure, we want to cut down on home invaders killing grannies.
But not necessarily gun deaths the other way 'round.
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