SASless
The changes in the U.S. homicide rate over time are interesting. In 1900 there were few gun laws. New York had no handgun law and California no waiting period. Guns of all types could be ordered by mail or bought anonymously. And the homicide rate was 1.2, about one-sixth of what it is today.
1.2? What is 1.2?? Per 1,000,000?
You have to compare apples to apples. You think society at the turn of last century was much like it is today? You'd be lucky to bump into a person once a week in 1900, yet today with people packing into the cities, it is a much different story. Throw in another variable - drugs - and the cocktail of humanity becomes much more prone to violence.
Flare
1) Does anybody really believe that guns can be completely eliminated from society simply by making them illegal?
No - just as you can't eliminate drugs by trying to do the same. to use this as an excuse is an anti-reason "...Oh well, we can't stop it, so what the hell..." But does not being able to eliminate them give governments a reason to let people pack when they go shopping? (what about trolley rage?)
2) If not, then what method would you suggest to accomplishing the above?
Well, my answer is no; therefore I don't have a method for eliminating guns completely. I am happy with the way we deal with guns in Australia.
3) What is the advantage of disarming LAW-ABIDING citizens (aside from possibly reducing accidental gun deaths)?
This old crock of an argument. When will you people learn the reality? Everybody is "law abiding" right up to the time they commit their first crime. A law abiding citizen can get drunk. A drunk law abiding citizen (in America) can go to the family gun cabinet and pull out the heirloom 12 gauge to reinforce the domestic argument with Mrs Alphabet - boom. Oops. This is why the death penalty doesn't work - murder is generally not pre-meditated. It is committed in the heat of the moment, in rage, possibly with drugs or alcohol. And when a gun is close at hand, it is so much easier to do the killing.
You will never get rid of guns. They were invented for a reason, and are a part of humanity. If you like shooting (as I do), then go to a range, sign out your weapon and do it. They shouldn't be kept in suburban homes.