Actually, you may safely draw those conclusions but, all the maps also support other conclusions. One being that it is safer to live Lincoln than New York City, Amarillo is safer than Houston, Bakersfield than Los Angeles. Or, that it is safer to live in a predominantly Republican area than in an area controlled by Democrats. Most importantly, the lower the population density the safer you will be. All sorts of conclusions can be supported from the data posted. It all depends on what you want to conclude.
My only conclusion, after reviewing the presented maps, is that the fewer people there are, the lower the chance of dying from a gunshot, gun ownership aside. There are a lot of gun owners in New York City (He observed facetiously)...
Most strange and, worthy of note, is the map published by The Huffington Post. Who'd a thunk it! No editorial slant. I suppose that would have been in the accompanying article. Should be an interesting, even humorous, read.
By the way, what's the over/under on the lock? I put my money on under unless the number is unrealistically high.