Sadly I too remember hungerford & dunblane, the latter was very poignant for me as my niece was the same age as many of the victims at the time, & a ban wasn't a knee jerk reaction, but was a somewhat heavy handed but simple response against a system that desperately needed an overhaul.
As for the politics, total bs, much of the changes in legislation we now experience come down to the opinions of those in charge, sometimes the motivation is personal, or financial, often both.
There are people that don't like guns, or what they represent, in much the same way there are people that don't like motorcycles, usually with no valid reason, but it's much easier for the anti gun lobby to garner support, which is why as Rif owners we've got to be at the top of our game, to appear almost Saint-like in the eyes of the media & authorities.
For this reason I'm glad that FB keeps cracking down on Airsoft pages, 90% of social media users are thick as shit, so when it comes to our hobby most do more harm than good, at least with the forums there's a more proactive attitude to do (& say) the right thing, as well as vigilant admin to monitor it.