It goes even deeper than that really. When you strip back the initial layers, you end up at the same starting points. The mass majority of gang and criminal elements come from impoverished communities and homes. The typical gamg member is raised in a community devoid of ethical male role models and single mothers who are not around, because they are trying to make ends meet. This results in a cascade effect of lack of education, understanding of moral ethics due to self survival, and defense through the power of numbers. This demoralizes the value for life and teaches empathy is for the weak. This results in violence on a scale the rest of the society cannot relate to. For the most part, you don't see gang wars and drive-bys in middle class neighborhoods.

This is a much more complex issue than just calling in the national guard. That will clean up the streets for a week and then it will be back to what it was. Arming the citizens will resolve individual rights issues of self defense, but ultimately will not address the societal conditions that led to the warfare in the first place.