Short answer: In many places, yes—targeted, evidence‑based regulations can reduce gun deaths while preserving lawful ownership.
What tends to work (with due‑process safeguards):
•Universal background checks and permit‑to‑purchase/licensing: Associated with fewer homicides, suicides, and less illegal diversion of guns.
•Domestic‑violence prohibitions with mandatory relinquishment: Reduces intimate‑partner homicide.
•Extreme Risk Protection Orders (red‑flag laws): Help prevent suicidal crises and some potential shootings when there are clear warning signs.
•Secure storage requirements (and child‑access prevention laws): Reduce accidental shootings and youth suicides.
•Training and demonstrated competency for carry/ownership: Linked to safer handling and fewer negligent shootings.
•Limits on large‑capacity magazines: Evidence suggests fewer casualties in mass shootings; overall homicide effects are smaller.
What’s less clear or more contested:
•Broad “assault‑weapon” bans show mixed evidence on overall homicide but may reduce mass‑shooting lethality.
•Looser public carry laws are associated in several studies with higher violent crime, though estimates vary and are debated.
Key trade‑offs and safeguards:
•Protect self‑defense rights and legitimate uses (sport, hunting).
•Build in due process (especially for red‑flag and DV cases), time‑limited orders, and clear appeal paths.
•Avoid policies that enable selective or discriminatory enforcement; pair laws with community‑violence prevention and suicide‑prevention services.
•Ensure data privacy, clarity, and reasonable costs so compliance is practical.
Bottom line: If the goal is fewer suicides, accidental shootings, and violent crimes without banning ownership, stronger but focused regulations—background checks that cover all sales, licensing/training, secure‑storage standards, DV and ERPO tools—are the likeliest to help and are generally compatible with constitutional constraints when crafted carefully.
If you share your country/state and priorities (e.g., suicide prevention, mass‑shooting risk, trafficking), I can tailor what “more regulation” would concretely look like where you live.