It seems crazy to think that guns would make society safer. Presence of guns just means when shit hits the fan it hits harder. Does not help for self defense either, you have less chance to respond.
Also it makes things between the public and police tenser. When a policeman pulls a car to the side, the chance of there being a gun in the car really changes the approach he will take.
The public in general does not need guns, either, robbers, extortionists might need them. Seems like a natural thing to illegalize them to me. (I have not followed the gun-control thread though.. 300 replies too read.. :/)