The left wants to talk “common sense” about firearms… until common sense doesn’t suit them, of course.

We witnessed that yet again at the Washington Post several days ago, as someone called Christopher Ingraham attempted to deceive readers about the defensive use of firearms.

In 2012, there were 8,855 criminal gun homicides in the FBI’s homicide database, but only 258 gun killings by private citizens that were deemed justifiable, which the FBI defines as “the killing of a felon, during the commission of a felony, by a private citizen.”

That works out to one justifiable gun death for every 34 unjustifiable gun deaths.

Or, look at it this way. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data shows that in 2012 there were 20,666 suicides by gun. That works out to one self-defense killing for every 78 gun suicides. CDC data show that there were more than twice as many accidental gun fatalities as as justifiable killings.

Did you catch Ingraham’s dishonest trick?

Even the most rabid supporters of gun control concede a minimum of 55,000+ defensive gun uses every year, and the more credible claims range from 500,000 defensive gun uses (on the conservative side) to more than 3.5 million per year in one of the most widely accepted study from award-winning criminologist Gary Kleck and Marc Gertz. (You can pick apart the references and individual studies here if you so desire).

All of these studies have the “common sense” to grasp that a successful defensive gun use doesn’t require the discharge or a firearm.

In fact, in the vast majority of defensive gun uses, the mere presence or display of a firearm sends criminals fleeing, and that is by far the most prevalent type of defensive gun use.

Mr. Ingraham, however, isn’t interested in honestly addressing the overwhelming number of defensive gun uses that take place without a shot being fired.

Mr. Ingraham isn’t interested in discussing the number of times that someone fired a firearm in a defensive gun use.

Mr. Ingraham isn’t interested in discussing the number of times that shots were fired and that criminals were wounded.

Mr. Ingraham isn’t even interested in the number of times that civilians (which includes law enforcement officers) fatally shoot criminals.

Dishonest to his very core, Mr. Ingraham restricts his grouping to only private citizens who killed a criminal with a firearm.

It’s quite the data manipulation trick to refine, twist, and torture data to the point that 500,000-3.6 million defensive gun uses disappear, leaving just 258.

What it isn’t is honest reporting.