Guns and Violence: Are we ignoring some important factors?

I struggle with gun violence events and the maze of perplexing and conflicting statistics and arguments about gun violence in the U.S. I constantly come away feeling we are somehow “missing the boat.” In the face of decreasing violent crime and gun violence overall, we nevertheless do have a growing number of incidents of “mass violence”—not just in schools and public places, but particularly in the inner-cities involving gang and domestic violence.
Stipulate the obvious.
For me, the following seem obvious:
• Gun laws must be enforced and any “holes” filled.
• Laws must be made uniform.
• The percentage of gun crimes committed by legally obtained weapons is minimal.
• Gun homicide is dwarfed by gun suicide.
• Understanding the impact of mental illness is important.
• Firearm security/storage regulations would help.
• Education and information about proper use and safety for firearms would help the public become familiar with and understand “guns.”
• Gun free zones and confiscation aren’t likely answers.
Those observations seem almost trite compared to something else that’s on my mind right now. There’s so much more about the evolution (or “devolution”) of our society that I believe is more important than those statements, harsher gun laws, or even attempts to eliminate guns.
Maybe it’s not just about too many guns, mental illness, or firearm law enforcement.
Often, a horrible event is followed by anti-gun activists bemoaning guns and suggesting ways to eliminate firearms. Is focusing on gun laws and enforcement just wishful thinking? On the other hand, perhaps we conservatives are too quick to say: “It’s not the gun—it’s really because of inadequate policies dealing with mental illness.” We must remember, the emotions of anger, hatred, and racism can come out of a perfectly sane, but very evil brain – so let’s not too quickly confuse them with mental illness.
I fear there are things leading to anger, hatred, racism—and ultimately violence—that we aren’t examining. I believe we are avoiding these subjects because discussing them would foster accusations of being politically incorrect, or racist—or perhaps would be found to contradict some “model” for crime prevention developed by an obscure professor of criminal psychology.
These are questions that deserve examination as to their impact on hatred, racism and similar emotions directly, and the impact on gun violence indirectly:
• Have government programs institutionalized “urban poverty plantations” as a breeding ground for hatred, racism, class warfare and ultimately, violence?
• Has de-emphasis on a traditional family structure led to changes in attitudes about behavior?
• Is morality being redefined?
• Have changing moral absolutes led to an expansion of acceptable behavior?
• Is violent behavior becoming more easily forgiven, or rationalized, by society?
• Has there been a change in the definition of life and the sanctity thereof?
• Have changing views about “life” cheapened how life is valued?
Institutionalized poverty, redefinition of morality, wider definition of acceptable behavior, changes in perceptions about “life”—do these fit into the dreadful equation of increasing violence?
Think about it. Please.