Handling gun violence as a public health problem is doomed to failure. Unlike alcoholism or domestic violence, which are common across all socioeconomic classes, gun violence is overwhelmingly related to poverty and its associated ills. Most gun violence stems from the illicit drug trade and youth gangs. The lure of easy money or peer support from gangs is irresistible to the children of poverty and dysfunctional families. The illegal drug trade nets billions of dollars each year, all outside government regulation.
Competition is vicious and deadly.
Therefore, participants buy the best weapons available anywhere in the world. Smuggling is their specialty. Never forget the law of unintended consequences. Many children of the poverty-stricken underclasses have no functioning family unit. A child raised on the streets develops the mores of the gang, which are usually violent and antisocial.