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At least some of the reduction comes from fear of irritating someone that's already on edge that might go off and obtain a gun for the purpose of exacting some revenge.

I speak from personal experience.

I have a family acquaintance that's imposing, shallow, and just generally a huge PITA. That's the consensus of family and friends. The behavior, emotional games, and the deliberate manipulation of others is outrageous. This person really doesn't understand what's wrong. For health reasons (hypertension) some have cut off contact with this person. For myself I've tried to be nice, but the level of selfishness in this person and the size of the ego creates a barrier to any subtle hints or criticism, so finally I decided to be blunt and brutally honest. This person was very upset, but denied having any fault.

Afterword I recalled that this person has firearm. I quickly changed my approach and moved towards some sort of reconciliation, deciding to simply try to tolerate all the headaches and stress.

It's not that there is obvious evidence that this person is unstable. If that were the case the gun might be confiscated on the grounds of mental illness. It's more complicated than that. This person probably won't do anything rash, but the loss of my life is very serious to me so any chance that they might behave rashly must be taken seriously. I really wish the games would stop, but fearing for my life means I'm going to have to go back to simply indulging this person.

What I'm saying in the context of the new CC law is that the reduction in homicides might be occurring because people now seriously consider the possibility of being shot by someone they've had a conflict with. When CC was illegal, the idea that someone might have a gun wasn't often considered in a conflict. Now that CC is legal, everyone is much more likely aware of the feelings and sensitivities of the person they're addressing or otherwise dealing with and this is heading off conflicts that might otherwise occur.

I’m a little curious. What relationship do you have with this person that makes it imperative that you be around him? Also, has it not occurred to you to arm yourself, just in case? You should be armed, anyway.

Afterword I recalled that this person has firearm. I quickly changed my approach and moved towards some sort of reconciliation, deciding to simply try to tolerate all the headaches and stress.

So you just surrendered. A very liberal approach, and it worked well for Neville Chamberlain.