It should be noted that Washington, DC has the strongest gun control laws in the country, yet it's also one of the most violent cities, making the top 25 list on a regular basis. The strong access to guns that Markie noted are all purchased illegally, and this despite the fact that the district has such strong gun control laws. The more impoverished an area, the more filled with violence it will be, and the more you will see individuals who are involved in the violence seeking out illicit access to guns for all the obvious reasons. Strong gun control laws have never prevented criminals from gaining access to them, or for using them to commit crimes, as long as a strong demand for them exists. It's the same principle as the drug prohibition laws, and trying to control gun violence by curbing the right to bear arms works about as well as curbing drug use by denying people the right to partake of any recreational substance they want. Solutions to these problems must be democratic, and not draconian or totalitarian, or they can be expected to fail and even backfire on society.

Moreover, there are many areas in the South where guns are not difficult to come by legally, which have considerably less incidences of gun violence, or the commission of crimes using guns, than places like Washington, DC. This is in part because criminals who would attempt to use guns to victimize average people realize they may be doing so at their peril; it's always easier for criminals to use guns for violent unlawful purposes when they have guns but can be confident that most of the common citizens around them do not.

Yes, there are many tragic deaths per year due to accidents or incompetent use of guns, but there are even more deaths per year, including those of children, that involve cars, swimming pools, and over the counter drugs. Rarely by comparison do kids in areas where guns are common, and who grow up with them and learn to use them responsibly from an early age, have such accidents. IMO, prohibiting the right for common citizens to own guns for the stated purpose of curbing accidental gun deaths is just as undemocratic as any other Nanny State imperative, including prohibiting people from purchasing certain foods that are not good for their health.