Why are you Americans so obsessed about guns? Is it really a historical throwback to lawlessness in the old Wild West?

I find the general obsession with guns in the US frightening at times, but then I’ve never lived there and all I see is feedback from documentaries, books, news reports on television, and talking to the occasional American I meet up with.
Are all US States covered by the same gun laws or does it vary from State to State? Is it some form of paranoia?