There's a couple things that are objectively true everyone needs to recognize for this discussion:
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the prevalance of guns in america contributes to increased violence
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a significant part of this is a cultural issue, other countries have incredibly high rates of gun ownership without these problems (these rates are still significantly lower than the US)
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suicide makes up the vast majority of gun deaths, we shouldn't combine these with other gun violence because they have different root causes
This doesn't even take into consideration all the wounding, threats, violence, rape, etc. that is perpetrated because of easy access to guns
I'm not sure we can say this is because of easy access to guns, I can find major cities in the US in deep red states with lower violent crime rates than similar european cities.
I can also find cities in deep red states with higher violent crime than similar european cities.
Does gun prevalence play a role? absolutely, but it's a complex issue and it's just one of many many factors.
Providing mental health service at no cost would be a great way to handle suicide, but it would still not solve the actual gun problem.
It solves about 2/3 of it. But more seriously, banning guns wouldn't solve the gun problem either.
We have more guns than people, a significant chunk of which are completely untraceable. You can manufacture a gun at home with about ~$300 worth of equipment.
So you don't really have an answer other than clutching your guns.
I'd bet the person you were responding to has one if you're willing to actually listen to them.