As authorities continue to unfold details surrounding the movie theater massacre in Aurora, Colo., a national debate over gun control is reigniting.

Gun control advocates warn that America is awash in guns and that gun dealers outnumber McDonald's 9 to 1. But gun owners say more guns, in the right hands, could have stopped suspected shooter James Holmes

"I'd have taken him. It's that simple," gun owner Don Curtis said. "If you're there, and the guy is going to create a crime, he's going to hurt people, then somebody needs to stop him."

On the campaign trail there has been no desire to make gun control an issue, from President Obama or GOP candidate Mitt Romney

"I'll protect the Second Amendment. I have guns myself," Romney has said.

Still, Romney once signed an assault weapons ban as governor of Massachusetts.

"This is really an enormous problem for the country, and it's up to these two presidential candidates," New York City Michael Bloomberg said.

But the majority of Americans favor existing gun laws over more gun control.

And Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, a Democrat, believes even the toughest gun laws would not have stopped Holmes from killing.

"This guy was diabolical, right?" he said on ABC's "This Week." "He would have found explosives. He would have found something else, some sort of poisonous gas. He would have done something to create this horror."

Gun owners do support future steps to ensure guns aren't put into the wrong hands.

According to a recent survey of members of the National Rifle Association and other gun owners, 82 percent of respondents said they support requiring criminal background checks for gun purchases.