Why is there controversy surrounding gun control?

Answer 1

The basic question about gun ownership would be, is it more socially useful to allow the general public to own guns or to restrict gun ownership to the police and armed forces. Arguments can be made for both sides of this debate. When members of the general public own guns, they can use those guns for legitimate purposes of self defense, or of recreational hunting or target practice etc., and in addition, this makes it harder for corrupt and dictatorial governments to get away with their crimes, since an armed populace can rise up against them. And on the other side of the debate, it is also true that the more people there are who have guns, the more easily people can use those guns to commit crimes. When we see a case such as the horrible mass shooting committed by James Holmes recently, in the movie theater, we tend to think that it would have been a good idea to prevent him from getting his hands on guns in the first place. If he went into a theater and started punching people, the casualty rate would have been much lower.

Answer 2

Your questions asks for an opinion- here is mine. Gun control seeks to control the behavior of people by controlling things. In the US, there are several thousand gun laws already on the books. Some people feel there should be more laws. Some people feel the laws do not work- but keep honest people from being able to defend themselves. The difference in opinions is the controversy.