The problem with most gun control laws is that they limit the access of peaceful law abiding citizens while doing little about the criminal element.
It is about playing to the fears of the populace while only giving lip service to the real issues at hand.
A perfect example is the assault weapon ban. First of all the VAST majority of gun crimes are committed with hand guns NOT rifles. Even still the ban had to do with how a gun looked (playing on fears again) and not on how it functioned. There is little evidence that the assault weapon band limited crime or that crime went up after it expired.