As much as I dislike the idea of "just anyone" owning a gun, and as much as I think that such a death was senseless and bad...

If a man at a stoplight walked up to my car and smashed in my driver's side window while I was sitting in the driver's seat, I would think that I'd be completely within my rights to defend myself. The act of walking up to my car and smashing in my window is a clear threat to my life, I don't see how it could be interpreted any other way.

I'm sure the story is more complicated than that, though. We're only hearing the story third- or fourth-hand. There were probably circumstances leading up to the incident that gray the issue. But just on the face of it, I think my statement above stands.

One thing that was brought up in that other discussion thread is the usual people-who-don't-know-about-guns statement of "Why didn't he shoot-to-wound the guy, he didn't have to kill him." These statements are always patently absurd. The purpose of a handgun is to kill another human being, although hopefully only in self-defense. Once you have decided to use the gun, assuming that you really are protecting your own life in that situation, it would be folly to try to shoot-to-wound your attacker. Someone who is trying to kill you will continue to do so even when wounded, with redoubled efforts. So if you're going to pull that trigger, it is only logical to "make it count".

To answer your specific question...

The scarey part is that no one is saying "why the hell was that guy driving with a gun?"

Precisely to defend himself against freaks who would try to walk up to his car and smash his window and threaten his life. And as I said, as much as I find the idea distasteful, it is completely within the rights of the gun owner to do so.

One of my best friends has a concealed weapon permit because he is a sound engineer and travels with hundreds of thousands of dollars of equipment. A single carjacking could net the perpetrator a small fortune, while instantly bankrupting my friend. I respect his right to protect himself in this manner. He is a level-headed person, very intelligent, and I do not in any way feel unsafe when I am in his presence and he is carrying his weapon. He is also not the kind of person who is likely to involve himself in a road-rage-related incident as described above. So I am not particulary worried about him becoming a news headline.