Couple observations:
The guy used a post digger as a weapon for goodness sake.
Who'd a thunk it?
Are we going to restrict those items to only be carried to and from work sites? How do you regulate weapons when people use anything as a weapon?
Also, you can bet your buns that the "good guys" here called the cops immedialty:
"My crazed ex-husband in bashing in my windows with a post-digger, and shouting obscenities and that he is going to kill me...."
Even at this, and the fact that the guy took time to beat up the car first....did the cops show up in tiome to stop him before he got to assualting the people? NO.
Since the Police were not there to protect them, (even though there was more time than usual for the cops to get there before things got really nasty), what would have happened if the "good guys" had not had a gun?
'nuff said.