I'm not sure that holds up.
'Many of the smaller US states' - so you mean the states with lower rates of gun violence have relatively low gun violence?

The OP also quoted his colleague as saying 'fewer people would be shot to death' rather than murder in general.

You also need to look at context - I reckon a higher percentage of gun ownership is rural in Canada and Norway than in the US. And I reckon knife crime probably goes down as gun ownership goes up, for example, but that's not necessarily an argument in favour of gun ownership as a means of controlling knife use. Just as Ethiopia has very low rates of many cancers, but that doesn't mean they have great healthcare for the elderly. There's no such thing as a controlled environment in the real world.

Not objectively wrong to say loose gun control doesn't lead to more gun crime, but I'd struggle to find examples that hold up to scrutiny.

Just realised I've been a bit too serious here - by way of apology, have a Youtube link to a man delivering a propaganda speech to some turkeys.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=2EaQkB1_P_0
(sabre-tooth monkey, Fri 11 Oct 2013, 12:58, Reply)