IMO both sides of the debate often oversimplify the argument. The worst case manifestation of this is spewing forth emotive one liners or slogans believing it's all simple.
The elephant in the room is the US Constitution. You can't legislate against or hinder gun ownership (long arms and pistols) until you change the constitution. Changing a democratic constitution is no mean feat - and rightly so!!! The other elephant in the room is the traditional American reluctance to accept government regulation in favour of self regulation. Some would argue (as I might) that this is a primary element of true freedom.
If you're interested in the real public opinion in the US on gun control then look at this - it makes an interesting read:
http://www.pollingreport.com/guns.htm
This contrasts somewhat to the opinion of US law enforcement personnel:
http://ddq74coujkv1i.cloudfront.net/...mmary_2013.pdf
You may get a clue that it's not as simple as you think.
Cheers, Marcus