Let's be clear. Guns do not - CAN not - "prevent" violence. In the same way that a Double Steak Grilled Stuffed Burrito Supreme,™ from Taco Bell does not "prevent" a 3 a.m. bathroom incident that will never be spoken of again in polite company.

Guns CAUSE violence.

That is their first, their primary, and indeed their only job. And they are exceedingly good at doing it.

And you may argue that by causing that violence, it prevented another, different violence from happening. But note that this is both debatable and also - at best - only a secondary consequence of it first CAUSING violence.

And you may argue that without guns, violence still occurs. And you would be right. But note that this is a different observation than the fact that guns CAUSE violence. The existence of additional, different violence does not change this.

We don't have to live like this. We can choose to remove the thing causing the violence.