Statistics prove you wrong:
New York actually has the 5th LOWEST rate of gun-death per 100,000 people at 5.20 per 100,000.
linkys:
http://www.upi.com/Health_News/2008/...5011209186884/
http://www.vpc.org/press/0905gundeath.htm
Also, stats for 2009 gun murders - not just deaths - can be found here:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datab...-us-state#data
Where you'll find your home state of Alabama is the 3rd most dangerous state for gun-murders in America with a rate of 8.02 gun homicides per 100,000 people. Top two were DC at a staggering 18.84 gun homicides per 100,000 and Louisiana with 10.46.
The national average was 2.98/100,000 and those three particular states you mention, Iowa, Montana and Minnesota had rates of 0.40, 4.94 and 5.64 respectively.
All studies that I can find show a direct correlation between higher rates of gun ownership and both gun-deaths and gun-murders.
Also, if you consider that in America the gun-murder rate is 2.98/100,000 and the gun-death rate is 10.32/100,000 that means the rate of self-inflicted or accidental gun-death is 7.34/100,000.
More guns means more people get killed by guns, period.