That is my point
There is no evidence that allowing people to carry weapons reduces crime
There is no evidence that restricting guns makes it safer either
If we want to lower violent crime the answer is not gun control nor is it putting more guns on the street either
Look at the facts
Guns don't make a community safer
I agree with your points in general (statistical/non-statistical arguments aside). Further, I have stated all along that guns aren't the problem, people are. You seem to agree.
I also think that the difficulty in the analysis of the current situation is that there are no controlled studies (or practical ways of conducting them) that can provide insight as to whether increasing the number of guns in the hands of private citizens living in inherently violent communities (in which criminals already have guns) can effectively reduce crime.
While accidental shootings and suicides may increase, does violent crime decrease? Is the overall death and/or injury rate of the population from non-medical causes improved?
The anecdotal evidence seems to argue both ways in terms of the overall well-being of the population.
It's also important to note that people are inherently tribal and violent animals and have been engaging in murder and genocide long before the gun was invented. ****sapiens killed off the neanderthals to take over control of the planet and "tribes" around the world have been killing each other ever since. Nations at war have killed children by the thousands in recent history (WWII) and continue to do so around the world.
The desire to have "superior" weaponry to protect one's own family or "tribe" is a natural instinct well honed by thousands of years of such violence.
We all want to feel safe, but disarmament in a violent world makes no sense either. We can't disarm the attackers effectively any more than we have been able to win the "war on drugs".
The answer to dealing with the issue lies elsewhere.