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[Scoops Novel]

As we all know, if we think guns have been romanticized, it's countless centuries behind bows, melee weapons, and in particular the sword. We still haven't got over it. I had a feeling that they wouldn't have gone down well in certain circles, but i haven't found any examples beyond that of their attempted illegality in Japan thanks to their affects on the samurai. I'd like to know what you can dig up.

[Mictlantecuhtli]

It's hard to dig up any specific sources, but some reactionaries [Monarchists especially] of the time were staunchly anti-firearm. Slaves getting a-hold, fears of wider rebellion facilitated by access to relatively easy-to-use weaponry, etc. I'm just going with off-the-cuff historics. There was large variance, with militaries that were ahead of the curve adopting them outright and having some rather obvious bonuses compared to their neighbors. Japan is unique in that she's one of the only examples of reactionaries and firearms that managed to hold their lands throughout, as the others who acted that way were squashed and hardly even mentioned.

[Glubags]

http://books.google.com/books/about/Gunpowder_and_firearms.html?id=s4PfAAAAMAAJ

This book traces the history of gunpowder/firearms in India specifically, tying it to the decline of the Mughal empire.  Seems it would be right up your alley in terms of socioeconomic/political impact of the arrival of firearms.

I'm sure there are several books like this one which deal with guns' widespread adoption throughout the rest of the world.  Jared Diamond's "Guns, Germs, and Steel" provides a perspective on guns as one of the main driving forces behind our modern civilization, for better or worse.