There are laws, there is culture, there is history, there is power, and there are externalities.

Ultimately, you are asking for an amalgamation of these forces to explain the current state of things, and the reality is that only a scholar is likely able to give that to you. The likelihood of such a person existing here is low, so you will likely only get answers from people who don't know the extent of what they don't know.

I certainly don't know the history, but I don't think the history is as relevant as the culture.

I can speak for culture (one of many, my culture) because I grew up in a culture that revered gun ownership. Even as an extreme liberal person, I see gun ownership as a core liberal belief. If someone says they are liberal, but does not also believe in gun ownership, then I think they are a little politically immature. You can believe in gun ownership, but still believe it should be regulated. That is nuance and it's hard to have that discussion. I think a lot of Americans see a simple axiom to their political reality: "guns == freedom". Guns are not just a tool but a symbol.

A core part of conservative (white?) culture is that the government is going to come and take away your rights and if you do not have a gun, they will be taken from you. If you do not have power, then you will be oppressed. Furthermore if you are not willing to sacrifice your life for freedom, then you will not be free.

These are powerful ideas with quotes like: "live free or die" and "give me liberty or give me death," "the tree of liberty must be watered..." "freedom is never given, it must be taken" "better to die free than live a slave" "if you want peace prepare for war" "if you give up freedom for safety, you will get neither."

These are not idle ideas, but ideas that shape our understanding of reality.

So when people who grow up in this culture of gun worship hear the message "we want to take away guns from the bad people," what they don't hear is any nuance or depth or ask if there are individuals who should not have the right to fight oppression, what they hear is "I (the government) want to be able to oppress you, so I am going to whittle away your rights until you can't fight back." That isn't an exaggeration. That is the message that is heard regardless of how the idea of gun policy is expressed.

"Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun" is a famous communist quote, but it is very true. American culture says that the people must have power and therefore people must have guns. Guns are the tool of last resort to use to fight oppression and as free people we must have access to those tools to fight it.

Sadly, guns are a tool to execute power, and power itself is amoral. Power can be used for bad and for good. In America this power that we have been granted is being abused in ways that it is obvious on the world stage. Our culture clearly has a sickness.

We frequently talk about freedom, but fail to talk about responsibility to use our freedoms properly. "Rights" framed discussions rather than "responsibility" framed discussions result in what we see. Abuse of rights without any way to address neglected responsibilities creates an environment where the rights themselves are called into question.