The gun makes it easier to flip that switch to kill and to do more lethal damage in the same amount of time. If you have access to firearms, you don't have to be quite as determined to deal out some death. A simple notion is much easier to act on with firearm access. BUT that's still the people. . .
So for all intents and purposes, if you take the guns away (It's the guns!!!) you cut down on the death BUT you still have to address the root cause and that won't ever happen so long as half the people deny that it's a problem, and half can't articulate the problem and both only care when . . .
it's a mass shooter event and don't give gun violence (and other violence) a second thought every other day of the year unless it's to lie about violence and crime to fuel a political agenda.
For the record: I love guns. I think they're fun to shoot, valuable tools, and some of them are just plain sexy and I'm a firm believer in both the right to bear arms in general and to defend one's self, friends, family, and property with proportional force. But about 15 years ago, I decided . . .
Fundamentally, Americans probably shouldn't be trusted with firearms overall. I'm willing to make some exceptions for people who hunt to eat and have to defend against coyotes or werewolves or whatever the fuck, but in general, we shouldn't be allowed to own guns at this point in our development. ..
And I also am one of the few who recognizes that 2A never mentions firearms - all firearms are arms but not all arms are firearms - and that 200 ish years of legal precedent says Congress can absolutely regulate *which* arms are available to the public. So I say we take the guns and then . . .
everyone learns how to fight with sword and board or axe or halberd or whatever.