Guns, like a lot of other things, I put in the category of
Better to have it and never need it, than need it and not have it.
other slogans I find amusing are
"When seconds count, the police are just minutes away"
or
"why do you carry a gun?"
"because a policeman is too heavy!
"
When you call the police, who shows up?
Someone with a GUN!!!!
you can also shoot holes in any "study" or "statistics show" arguments, but to be credible, takes a little research. One that still shows up in arguments, and sadly is still spewed by certain talking heads is the "gun in the home is XX times more likely to kill you, or family member"...The numbers used vary sometimes, 43x, 19x etc. If you do a little research, you can find where this comes originally from the Kellerman study, which was lauded when it first came out, the author got awards. Later, actual review of his methods debunked the study, and the awards were recalled/withdrawn. The statistic is bogus, but simply will not go away in the minds of the true believers.
The base idea, that having a gun turns EVERY person into a ticking time bomb, UNLESS its on the job (police, military, private security) is idiocy, but one they seldom refuse to recognize.
Where do they think the people who make up the police, military, etc., come from, anyway? The general public, that's where.
They are fine with the idea of guns in the hands of the people they believe they control, and want no guns in the hands of anyone else.
You might mention the DC columnist (carl rowan?) as an example, who for years railed in print how no one but the police & military should have a gun. but, when a teenage kid jumped his back fence to go for a midnight swim in his pool, the columnist shot him! With a gun! With a gun that was ILLEGAL in DC at the time. And his excuse? "as long as our society is awash in drugs and violence, he was going to protect his family" (or something very similar).
Its elitism at the core. It not about right or left politics. Its not about any other issue. Its about an "all for me, none for thee" attitude.
Or, if their eyes haven't fully glazed over, you could point out that everyplace in the world where there has been genocide, there has been gun control (of some type) first. Gun control may not cause genocide, but it seems to be a necessary precursor...
Another thing you can point out, when you face the "guns are bad, we'd all be safer without them" types is the simple fact that there are no guns in prisons (other than the guards).
If guns are the problem, they should by perfectly safe and comfortable inside a prison, by their own logic.
Guns are not the problem. Bad people, doing things with guns, are the problem. And no amount of wishing or deep convictions and heartfelt belief will put the genie back in the bottle. Guns are here to stay, unless, you want to live in a prison.