I think the course for this was set in the U.S. in the 1920s during alcohol prohibition. The gangs who controlled the illegal alcohol and even the mom & pop moonshiners began fighting each other and the law with guns and the affinity for guns continued after the end of prohibition. Today the majority of gun violence has to do with the illegal drug trade and at this point, just as prohibition of alcohol and drugs led to increased violence I tend to believe that prohibition of guns will spur more violence. I also pity any populace that has been disarmed by it's government when that government turns against it, something our founding fathers had in mind when crafting our constitution and which has been shown to happen in other nations since. Our national psyche, at least of the decent honest folks, is not so much one of violence but one of meeting violence with like force, ie "fuck with me and you're apt to be sorry you did". I've also seen numbers that say the majority of all gun deaths in the U.S. are due to suicide, and in that case at least I'm sure other methods will be found and suicide levels will not decrease.