Bear with me. The single biggest risk factor with guns is suicide.

[DanTex]

1. I wouldn't say "the real problem" is suicide.

I would say that suicide is one of the real problems. Homicide and suicide are both problems. 10,000 gun homicides a year is still more in a single year than the total number of Americans killed in 9-11, Iraq and Afghanistan combined since 2001.

It's also more than the average number of Americans killed per year during the Vietnam war (the worst year of Vietnam we lost 15,000 IIRC, so it's in the ballpark). The fact that more people die per year from gun suicides doesn't mean that gun homicides aren't a "real problem".

Also, ecological studies have found that, in the US, suicide rates are correlated with general gun ownership rates, even after controlling for other studies. So any law that has the effect of reducing gun ownership will also reduce suicide (and homicide) rates.

The Brady Bill was actually found not to have a significant effect on homicide rates, attributed most likely to interstate trafficking (the study compares states that already required background checks to those that didn't) and the private sales loophole. The one area where the study found a significant impact is suicide rates of older males. So, in general, gun control is an effective tool in reducing suicide.