Causing a death by misuse of a firearm is virtually certain to get you enough jail time to guarantee job loss, and probably the loss of anything else you can't take care of while in jail. (Children, mortgaged or rented property, car, pets, etc.) It happens so rarely (roughly 500 times a year) that it pretty much always makes at least regional news, in spite of the US having an estimated 300 million privately owned firearms. In fact, it's fairly certain that if a gross misuse of a firearm can be pinned on you even without any injury or property damage, you're likely to see some jail time or at least truly painful fines and court costs, as well as at least a decade ban from having a carry permit in many states, or a felony conviction that includes permanent forfeit of the right to bear arms.

To pick a more similar analogy, a private pilot license is much harder to get and much easier to lose than a driver license in any state. FAA investigates any accident, incident or pilot deviation, and isn't reluctant to suspend the license while investigating an alleged serious infraction, or to suspend or revoke it for significant negligence or misconduct, in addition to other penalties. As a result, pilots are almost universally better than the typical driver. I'd daresay even the oft-maligned "idiots who fly VFR into thunderstorms" are actually more skilled at flying than the average American non-commercial driver is at driving.

So yes, if the penalties are perceived as strong enough, and are applied properly, (i.e. without the "Aww, you'd have to walk a mile to work and ten blocks to the store? We'll let you have your license back even though this is your tenth DUI" crap) they do make people a lot more careful about how they do something.