Yes, that's why I suggested the urban/rural distinction as a reason why handguns are used more than rifles. I'm guessing that rifles are more heavily concentrated in rural areas.
I'm guessing - and again, only a guess - that weapons intended for sporting use are more likely to be locked up, often with ammunition separately locked up, than weapons intended for defense, which would add a small level of opportunity for second thoughts.
I think a certain number of weapons nominally intended for "protection" are actually bought, owned, and all too often carried as ego props, as sort of a surrogate phallus. Typically this involves people who buy a gun but never bother to learn to use it. The ability to use it isn't that important to them, what they're after is the way having it makes them feel. That IMO is a dangerous combination.
I'd be curious to know what percentage of killings are actually planned, in any coherent sense. i dislike the term "crime of passion" because it sounds like an excuse, but arguments do get out of hand and people do stupid things when they are angry. It may be different there, but here the "typical" murder - you can find them in the newspaper on almost any given day - is an argument that got out of hand, and often involves friends, neighbors, or family. Alcohol is consistently involved. Whether or not these people are "evil" is open to interpretation, but I'm not sure their actions are planned.
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