Canyon Man, you're on it, my friend, but unfortunately the 'wind' of the current administration, and probably the next, is blowing the wrong direction. No one will have that debate, because it requires a firm leg to stand on, and the anti-gun sentiment does not have that. It is purely emotional. The problem with this is that the vast majority of our population are not thinkers, and they do not posses the intelligence or education level to understand that this very topic goes to the heart of what this country is, where it comes from, and where it's going.
What WILL happen will be a continuation of what we've seen already; little snippets like BHO's "citizens with guns" in a recent statement on Ferguson, that don't stick in and of themselves, but the picture that people put together, seemingly on their own, will eventually equate 'guns' with 'bad', no matter the facts (some would argue this has already happened). Then it's a very easy step to see the 'line' and choose 'good' over 'bad'. Who could fault anyone for siding with what is 'good'?!
Without a major change in the approach to this issue in the public realm (media, etc.), which isn't going to happen in the mainstream other than Fox (and they're already considered fringe by many), this line will continue to get etched deeper into the collective consciousness. If the people of this country do not prevent it from happening, I believe the day will come when you and I are the enemy, and we won't get to have our say on the matter.
P-Factor, sorry for the hijack...