My wife and I just completed a trip through the Scandinavian countries (Denmark, Sweden, Netherlands, Norway). On the trip I also met people from Australia and New Zealand. As much as I could, I explored their gun laws; a scary exploration. If you owned a gun in, say, Norway. You would have to undergo a thorough investigation of every reason you have for owning a gun. Usually the only acceptable reason is that you are a hunter. Self protection is not accepted as an appropriate reason. Once you get permission, there are strict rules for storing the gun and ammunition. Both must be stored in separate locked containers. The authorities can come to your house any time without advance notice and inspect the storage arrangement. If you are in violation you will most likely lose your firearm and ammo and face stiff fines. The people I talked to are generally very wary of getting on the wrong side of the government. Handguns cannot be owned in the way we think. If you want to buy a handgun you must go through rigorous evaluation. Once permitted, you can only "own" the gun if you belong to a government sanctioned gun club. The gun must be kept at the club and shot only at that location. It can never be taken home. I could list a bunch of other rules, but you get the gist. Oddly, most of the population thinks this is just fine and that the government should be in charge. The omnipresent government is in charge of nearly every aspect of their lives. Scares me to think we have many people in this country who think we should adopt their ways.