I was going to get into game theory as it applies to politics, but you know...
...this is starting to remind me of going head-to-head with anti-abortion activists, and it's driving me nuts.
Not you, in particular, but the whole tenor of the argument.
The gun control people feel pure in their outrage. I've seen that purity before. What you describe as the attitude of the gun culture doesn't describe the reality of the people I know who are gun owners. I feel obligated to defend them against the accusations of smugness and immaturity, because it isn't there.
Of course, they aren't here, either. Lucky them.