In March, 42-year-old Christy Sheats wrote on her Facebook page: It would be horribly tragic if my ability to protect myself or my family were to be taken away but that s exactly what Democrats are determined to do by banning semi-automatic handguns. Instead of protecting her family, Sheats used a gun to kill her two young daughters, ages 22 and 17, on Friday. Police then shot and killed Sheats.Sheats oldest daughter, Taylor Sheats, was pronounced dead at the scene. Her younger daughter, Madison Sheats, was rushed to a local hospital where she was pronounced dead a short time later.Fulshear Police did not disclose details about what led up to the shooting, saying only that they believe it was triggered by a family argument.Sheats husband was at home at the time of the shooting. New York Daily News reports that he was not physically injured, but was taken to an area hospital to be treated for mental and emotional trauma.According to KHOU, the family s neighbors were also in shock over the shooting, which took place in a quiet neighborhood in Fort Bend County, Texas.They described the family as a  nice, good, very good family,  saying there had never been any issues at the home prior to the shooting.Contrary to Sheats  statements in her March Facebook post, losing your right to own a gun is not  horribly tragic.  A horrible tragedy is when a mother loses her temper and uses a gun to shoot and kill her own children before getting shot and killed by police herself.As the L.A. Times reports here, the chances of someone using a gun in self-defense are slim to none. In 2012 there were just 259 justifiable gun-related homicides.The article goes on to point out that the number of justifiable homicides pales in comparison to the 8,432 criminal homicides that took place in the same year. Nor does it compare to the 20,666 intentional suicides. The number of deaths caused by unintentional shootings, 548, was more than double the number of self-defense shootings.Just a few months ago Christy Sheats and her family believed that owning a gun was a good idea. Now she and her daughters are dead. We can listen to the words of the NRA and second amendment enthusiasts, or we can move forward to enact sane gun-control policies and save lives.Here s more on this story from KHOU.Image credit: video screen capture KHOU