Futures
The future is uncertain, but one can look at the different arguments being made around a topic and consider the possiblities to see what may lie ahead.
Most arguments over gun control debate revert back to the Second Amendment. Many people argue that the government is on the path to infringe upon the rights set down in this Amendment, while others argue that the Second Amendment does not protect the freedoms enjoyed by some today. The future of the government taking away these rights is a future worth considering. In this future, the government slowly restricts the types of guns that can be owned and the activities they can be used for. Starting most likely with "assault weapons," the government will begin to ban certain classes of firearms. After banning semi-automatics and handguns, a national registry is likely to follow, through which the government can find and take away guns still owned at the time. Then, as history has shown is usually the case, guns are banned outright and taken from the citizenry through the national registry. Few civilians, if any, will be allowed to own guns, and always single shot and licensed with a difficult to obtain permit. From here the outcome is truly uncertain: either there will be peace and an incredible reduction of gun crime, or it will open the door for more crime and for a tyrannical government to suppress the people without opposition.
In another future, quite the opposite of the other, gun rights activists make incredible pushes to block restrictive legislation and increase gun rights. Through heavy lobbying and election of favorable officials, gun control legislation begins to be removed. Right to Carry laws are expanded and signed where there previously were none. As laws loosen, gun sales and gun ownership numbers soar to record numbers. Restrictions on ammunition, magazines, attachments, and gun specifications are loosened. In the wake of such great freedom of access to guns, new possibilities arrive: either there will be shootouts, massacres, and bloodbaths as crimes and vigilantism become the norm, or crimes decrease as criminals are more fearful of a heavily armed populace likely to defend themselves.
The true future probably lies somewher in between as each side pushes for what it wants, certain restrictions are incresed while others are blocked. In some places, laws loosen to allow more ownerhsip and freedom of use, while other areas increase restrictions to prevent criminals from obtaining guns and committing crimes.