Generally, it is reasonable to not allow chewing gum if people are going to stick it on chairs or on the carpet floor, or blow bubbles with it. Candy, on the other hand, should not be forbidden. It is unreasonable to expect small children to sit quietly and listen to material that many adults have problems staying awake listening to. Having candy (particularly items like Tic Tacs) and small toys to play with should be fine--yet the hounders find excuses to not allow those items to be handled within the Kingdumb Hells.
Now, as for adults chewing gum, fine--if they don't unreasonably disrupt the proceedings or stick it on surfaces where it can cause a mess that is difficult to clean up. On bare floors, gum can be cleaned easily if you pack the area with ice (dry ice works even better) because it loses its sticky characteristics in cold conditions. On carpets or chairs, however, it can become embedded in fibers. Sometimes it helps if people have a medical condition that results in dry mouth if they chew gum. Proper disposal is the key here.
Or, better yet, if someone has a problem with a hounder or group of hounders, or some snob that intrudes in everyone's affairs to restrict freedom within the congregation (which is, according to their own scriptures, one of the two legitimate reasons to "mark" someone as walking disorderly), just don't go at all. You can chew all the gum you want, including blowing bubbles, right from the comfort of your own home.
ence with everyone chewing.