Yet again (sheesh!), I’m not saying it is the deciding factor, the only factor or even a major factor. I was directly addressing a statement that is was no factor at all. That is delusional.
It’s not the raw numbers that I think is all that significant and as I’ve already pointed out, the ability of organised or career criminals to go out and obtain firearms (legally or not) with the intention of using them to commit crimes doesn’t account for a large proportion of the crimes. It’s the domestic availability of guns that I think is relevant, meaning that when unexpected incidents occur – domestic violence, road rage, bar fights etc., there’s a good change the people involved have firearms to hand when can be used to escalate the situation. It also means that if someone decides they are going to commit a crime – burglary, robbing a shop, mugging etc. – they’re more likely to be able to and to want to carry a firearm because they know there is a good chance their targets have them too.
Yet again, this doesn’t mean I’m saying American gun laws are bad or that you need to change them, this was merely a response to a single fundamentally flawed statement.