Let’s see (per NIJ):

Japan’s suicide (homicide) rate (with essentially NO firearm ownership) is 26/100k
Japan’s murder rate is essentially zero
U.S. suicide rate is currently 12.4/100k (48% by firearms)
U.S. murder rate is 4/100k
U.S. homicide rate (suicide+murder) is 16.4/100k

Japan’s homicide rate (essentially without ANY firearms in the society) is @40% HIGHER than the U.S. homicide rate.

Hmmmm. Seems that gun ownership in a society is not THE cause of homicides.

Gun sales have over doubled the number of firearms in U.S. society over the last 10 years. The homicide rate in the U.S. has been reduced (per NIJ) since 1997. It is statistically clear that the number of firearms in the U.S. society (which has risen sharply over recent years) has nothing to do (no correlation) with the number of murders which have dropped sharply (over 1/2) since 1997. More guns does NOT equate with more murders; the opposite is true. As the number of firearms has gone radically UP in U.S. society the number of murders has gone down radically. Literally, more firearms correlates with fewer murders.

Despite the fact that nearly all states (IL is the sole exception) allow some type of concealed carry licensing by law abiding citizens (a recent phenomena) the murder rate since the massive increase of legal concealed carry has corresponded with a radical REDUCTION of the murder rate. If the mere presence of a firearm “causes” murders then the millions of concealed carry permits should have increased the murder rate. This “increase” has obviously (see above) not happened. The number of concealed carry license holders convicted of murder is statistically non-existent (not to say that it is zero; just so close to zero (even with a massive n number) as to be statistically within the “noise” range. The statistically reality (versus the liberal imagination) is that legal gun owners/concealed carry permit holders are NOT having gun battles over parking lot disputes.

Per NIJ the number of domestic murders by persons who do not have a previous criminal history of violence (which makes the legal (under federal law) ownership of a firearm by the perpetrator per se illegal) is VERY low.

Have fun.