Who is for or against? Who has an opinion in-between? Well, I feel almost everyone thinks the mentally ill shouldn't own a gun and the same might be true with criminals.
The right to bear arms is in the constitution but they should be stricter on who gets one. Too many people getting shot up. They need to be strict on this. There's too many gun owners who are not physically stable and are mentally suppressed who even kill themselves on a daily basis just because they have a weapon close by. Someone who is suicidal can end their life too fast because of this.
I don't really know the essence of owing a gun when I have nothing tangible to do with it. I'll only get attracted to own a gun with the security in my locality is loose.
Strict law should be enforced against ownership of firearms. I am dead against owning a gun or for that matter even a hunting rifle. Both are equally dangerous. Violence is on the increase. Tragically we hear lot of news about shooting incidents in educational institutions, which is real bad. You cannot justify owning a gun only for self protection. If it gets into the hands of anyone who should never have it, the consequences could be disastrous.
Young minds are corrupted by what they see on media and games. There is always this urge to enact it in real life. Though one needs to have a license to own a gun, illegal arms are finding its way into the market.
It's tough to police rules regarding illegal gun use by felons and the mentally ill. In that case, tragedies will keep happening. However, I think people need guns to defend themselves from criminals.
I do not think the public shall be armed with guns. That does not mean they cannot carry knives, tho. It is easy to slip in between the control checks and if everyone gets a gun, bad things could easily happen, dependant on the person carrying it. I suggest working on improving the safety for public and detaining criminals for life.
For centuries, people used swords and probably knives as the main weapons. In fact, the only weapons similar to guns I suppose were flame throwers and cannons. Anyway, people can arm themselves with rocks, whatever. You get to a point where banning stuff is pointless.