It absolutely does, cogs in the meat grinder.

That said, It brings everyone down to that level.

With guns, the mightiest general can still be killed by a lucky private. In most fantasy worlds, that would be near impossible for a basic untrained person to be a threat to a skilled warrior or mage.

And you are right, in the US there are an insane amount of gun deaths from murder, suicides, and accidents. Too many of us treat them like toys or emotional support Glocks, use them to be their masculinity.

Well, if it’s a shaped explosion round, aka HEAT, then it ‘forges’ a jet of molten copper upon detonation, that is what ‘cuts’ though armor plate. Pedantic, yes. Technically not forged by human hands, also yes.

I think it’s the ‘equalizer’ aspect. A knight would have to train for years to be proficient in swordplay, horse riding, and usage of a lance. Longbowman had to train from childhood. A wizard has to study magic for years.

A peasant could pick up a gun and theoretically kill any of them.

Americans in general are also more familiar with guns than swords or bows, so the “effectiveness” is more intuitive for our minds.

FYI, duplicate post

As someone put it, a win for infectious diseases, snake oil salesmen, and child size coffin manufacturers. . .

“I understood that reference”

It would go a bit of the way, but would be pretty difficult to accept as honest regret/empathy and not just trying to save face.