Jed Marum,

Keep in mind that my anecdote about the police officers comments dates to about 1980, so thing may have changed. If not, he was probably referring to the fact that a dead perp inside one's house, as opposed to outside on the lawn, is much less likely to result in legal complications even if both scenarios are technically legal.

I also liked the point that someone else made about the multitude of crimes that are thwarted without violence by the presence of a gun. These are generally not included in the statistics and thus erode the oft cited argument that a gun in the home is more likely to cause harm to the owner than a criminal.