Bizarrely, where gunownership among criminals is higher, the death rate during commission of a crime may be lower.

I remember an article in Scientific American where this minor statistic popped up: when a robber has a gun (I remember a Chicago cop saying that if the mugger has a gun, the mugger will show the gun: he wants you to know he's armed) the victim will tend to say "yes, sir" and give the thief what is wanted (usually money). When the thief is not showing a gun, or is armed with (say) a knife, there is more chance the victim will try to fight back, which (for most people) is a bad idea.