Less gun ownership is correlated with fewer murders, but it's a complicated equation.

Part of it is what gun control measures are in place. Having 100 guns in safe hands may not be safer than 10 guns in random hands, but it is safer than 75 guns in random hands.

Part of it is the ownership culture. Some parts of the US may have the laxest gun laws in the world, but not enough to account for the sheer quantity of guns available. Most people can get guns in most European countries. They just choose not to, or choose to get fewer.

So do less guns result in less murders? Or do we get less murders by not having a toxic relationship with firearms and not letting dangerous people buy a gun at the liquor store along with a handle of vodka?

It's as "complicated" with gay people and books. But the "toxic relationship" in that case are people who are closeted gay because they think it's horribly unacceptable and nobody will tell them better.

Banning books affects the quantity of happy, self-assured gay people. By how much? Fuck if I know, the general culture is probably way more important. But, books affect culture and culture affects books and their availability.

The difference between being a murderer and being gay is that, generally speaking, murderers are made and gay people are born.