There's no "brief" history of gun control. It's been used in this country for various reasons since the days following the Civil War, when the KKK was afraid of free and armed former slaves.
It was introduced in NYC following a heavy flow of Italian, Irish and Jewish immigrants that frightened the white powers-that-be.
It was passed on a grand scale nationally after the assasinations of JFK, Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy made some legiscritters fear that they would be next. The sight of the Black Panthers arming themselves didn't help much either.
A dramatic increase in the homicide rate, driven by the booming drug trade, gave the anti's a window through which to sneak even more gun control legislation.
Bill Clinton, sensing the angst of soccer moms, seized gun control as one of his signature issues.
Just a few of many points that can be made.