I have a few basic points:
1. Gun laws make it more difficult for criminals to obtain firearms and allow them to be punished for possessing them.
2. Providing for public safety is a legitimate role of government.
3. Guns are tools. They can be used by good people for doing good things, or by bad people for doing bad things. Since bad people will always be able to acquire guns (as they do drugs), it makes no sense to limit everyone's firearm priviledges. Moreover, good people are able to overcome bad people since there are more good people than bad people.
4. Gun regulation has little effect on crime. Depending on the area, it might reduce it, leave it unchanged, or increase it.
5. Any regulation on guns, even if the public becomes safer, is unnacceptable. The people of the world need to be armed to prevent human rights violations. In countries around the world, such as Cambodia, Rwanda, Guatemala, and the People's Republic of China, to name a few, unarmed civilians have experienced grave violations of their rights and genocide. Need I even add that the United Nations has not prevented any of these violations?
6. Background checks should be eliminated immediately. A) They are backdoor registration, B) People who can't buy guns should be in jail, C) Criminals can use straw purchases anyways, D) Most background checks are conducted on people who already own guns that they could use in crimes if they wanted, E) They can delay purchases for people who need personal protection immediately, F) In our legal system, people are generally innocent until proven guilty.
7. In theory, it would make sense for guns to be registered to keep them from criminals, etc. However, around the world, and in Commonwealth countries especially, this has resulted in widespread confiscation of arms. In South Africa, it used to be that nearly every white citizen carried a weapon. In 2004 the black government instituted a registration/permit system. Every gun owner has had to re-register their firearms. Re-registration is usually denied or takes up to 2 years to be completed.
8. Disarming evil people is a good idea in theory, however the UN has found this can be slightly difficult. The UN experienced their greatest combat loss of peacekeepers in 1993 in Somalia when they attempted to go door-to-door confiscating arms from members of Mohammed Aidid's militia. The militia had been hoarding (badly needed) food. The UN ended up losing 24 peacekeepers in an ambush.
9. Saying that guns are just like knives or gasoline or tow trucks is kind of silly. Guns are designed to expel projectiles, aimed, and very high velocities. Basically the only practical purpose of guns is to kill or stop a human or an animal. This isn't true of tow trucks.
10. Explosives such as grenades may be regulated, in my opinion. Of course, this prohibition would do little to stop criminals from having explosives (IEDs in Iraq, etc.), however, I consider them offensive weapons, unlike rifles or machine guns which are suited to defense and can be aimed with precision. I don't feel comfortable with ANYONE having NBC weapons.
11. The best way to punish criminals is to shoot them in the act. Failing that, punish them for murder, rape, or whatever they did, but don't single them out for possession or use of firearms.