I'm not sure when they restricted handguns here in Canada. I'm 56 and all I ever remember is that not many had them and their use and transport was very limited. Until we moved to the USA, I had never seen a handgun except for on the hip of a cop. For most of the 90's and 2000's I lived immersed in the southern gun culture of Arkansas and Mississippi. I enjoyed owning and shooting both long guns and handguns. We got used to seeing people carrying guns, in the grocery store, their cars.... A fellow I know had split with his wife but they were getting back together. Her ex boyfriend shot her then himself in broad daylight at the business adjacent to where I worked, I heard the shots. A coworker of mine was shot by another coworker of mine. A friend's brother shot himself at a party, blew his brains all over another friend of mine. I had a young man point a gun at me because I had politely asked him to turn his radio down. These are some of my experiences. I'd bet that a lot of Americans have their own list of experiences. I'm not being judgmental or trying to start a debate on gun control. Just sharing personal experience. You can't know what it's like to live somewhere unless you have lived there. Since I've been back in Canada, I've only seen handguns on cops.