It's not the guns, it's the culture.
If you look at murder rates (roughly 25% of the gun deaths in the US are homicides, most of the rest are suicides), and the number of guns, and the severity and restrictiveness of gun laws, across all countries, it is not the presence or absence of guns or the strictness or laxity of the gun regulations, but the economic and cultural nature of the environment that dominates in determining murder rates.
The US has a leaning towards violence in both history and mythology, embodying iconic events or images such as the American Revolution, the Indian Wars, the World Wars, and the 'Wild West'. Add to it the societal militarism, and the emphasis on punishment and permanent discrimination against criminals, over rehabilitation, and a mid level murder rate is not surprising.
There are countries with fewer guns and much higher murder rates, and countries with similar or greater availability of guns (greater means widespread distribution of automatic weapons, in this context - real assault rifles, not the faux 'assault weapons' touted in hyperbolic news reports) and much lower murder rates.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
