Of course it's about control. Some drones are toys yes, but some like the P3 are quite advanced, sophisticated and capable unmanned aircrafts. A galaxy from, say, a plastic lightsaber or a RC scale Ferrari with LED headlights. That's a serious misconception from the part of many new pilots, and upon reading such statements it becomes clear why AMA would advocate some kind of regulation for MRs.
Because anyone who's ever been involved with RC hobby knows how serious an accident with any of these "toys" can be, and how dangerous these "toys" can become for people, animals and propriety in the hands of untrained/unexperienced/unaware/reckless or just plain stupid and ignorant pilots. We must not think of drones as toys only because they're "fun" or "plug-and-play-easy", it's just not the same thing. If millions of P3 are flying unrestricted everywhere it will be crazy, even without accidents, invasions or close calls. And everyone has the "right" to that, so some kind of control is clearly necessary.
So ultimately it is about control. Only time and development of the market and the use of MRs by all kinds of pilots around the world will dictate the path this control is going to take in the future. If millions of MRs are sold and nothing happens, then fine, we're clear to fly. Theres nothing to worry about and life goes on. If critical situations and accidents start to increase and security/privacy is threatened in some (or many) ways, then regulation and restriction will be required, even demanded, by society and not just politicians or authorities. And before all that comes control, yes so it's a first step but not necessarily a bad one, or one for the sheep. No one wants disorder.
I see no problem with control, in fact I'm all for it. I'll start complaining and fighting if that leads to unjustified restriction at some point. But not now, it's too early to think everything will go wrong and some cop or black suit will come up to jail my P3. Paranoia work both ways, for now I'll just relax, fly and keep an eye out, hoping for the best.