Wow, lots going on here. Indeed a difficult time but things will settle down eventually. The pendulum is swinging heavily now, but it will reach a more balanced point once information spreads out and drones reach critical mass then back off, general interest will fade and move on to other topics as well. Or so I think.
It's always like that with new technology, people/media/politicians/government acting irrationally and extremely, passion prevailing over reason most of the time. Living in society is complex, and whatever adds to this complexity also brings the need for additional regulations. Like it or not, we must admit drones add quite a bit of new factors to the "social equation" regarding safety, privacy and more.
I have a registered car and to drive it I need to be registered/licenced because driving can cause damage and there are so many aspects involved with this apparently simple and common activity. In order to allow for registration, both car and driver must comply to a lot of rules. Drivers need instruction undergo test and so on. It is now a quite simple and common activity, but it wasn't once and a process brought us to this point. I guess it's the same with drones.
I would love to just fly my P3 everywhere I wanted without any hassle. But admiting every citizen has the same right and does the same it will be an unpractical mess, that is for sure. Drones can cause damage, they're fun and not so hard to fly but still, no one wants a drone crashing on his/her car, property, pets or family/friends. And I'm sure no one wants drones crashing planes and copters either. I love flying but I don't want to be on either side in any of those situations!
Accidents are impossible to avoid completely, but some preventive measures and safeguards can help diminish probabilities and limit consequences. So yes I think action must be taken in order to organise drones, that is the cost of living in society. Freedom is good but not without obligations, there's just too much involved, for good and bad.
I'm in favour of mandatory instruction just like it is needed to drive a car. There must be a learning curve, these new MRs are unlike RC aircrafts which complexity and cost turns it into an easy to control niche so my opinion is that some basic professional instruction before venturing into the air is important to fly above a certain level of distance, altitude, etc.
Also I wouldn't mind registering my drone and undergoing a test or instruction to get habilitation, particularly if that would allow me to fly in more places and with more freedom, without inspiring fear or defiance or any negative feelings or actions from people or authorities. Just like when driving my car. Regulation and registration have a bad (or more) side, but it also adds legitimacy and rights, at least to good users.
I don't think it will lead to ban, quite the opposite it will help legitimate drones. Could be the other way around of curse, there's no way to know for sure so I guess we'll have to walk that path and see.