There is one thing I have a theory might well have a lot to do with it.
The fact that we live in a tyranny, or at best, a fascist govt in anything but name. Those who wish to retain a stranglehold on power, do not, usually, have a very welcoming view on outside forces having such a force multiplier. It could be used against them far too easily. Treat people like idiots, rob them blind, and then ask them to believe its for our own good? that isn't really what I'd think of as a winning strategy in a popularity contest. Act like a prick, someone, somewhere is going to REALIZE your a prick. And act accordingly.'they' in this context, meaning government. heck you don't really need to, someone somewhere is going to hate you, no matter what. You can't please everybody, all the time, especially when said everybody have a large number of widely differing views as to what constitutes prickdom.
But its backfired really I think. No pun intended. Because when owning a firearm, with no regard to its end use by the owner, simple uncomplicated ownership, is 'criminal' then
ONLY the criminal elements will have guns. Not the white collar crooks, but the vicious, bloodthirsty thugs who will USE them against people. owned several in the past, does it equate to having used them in the comission of murder or robbery? no. It doesn't. In this case, its equated to putting dinner on the table sometimes, when otherwise there would have been a bare table for the next month.
I mean by criminal elements, the thug wannabes, eastern european gangsters, ragheads on the rampage. Whilst old ladies who's (quite unaware of) now dead husband's antiqeu service revolver from WWII get taken to court and threatened with or sent to prison because it was found by filth in a drawer? not only that but threatened with a decade inside PER ROUND, in addition to penalty for the gun having been there? does that sound like justice to anyone? I remember reading about that case, in the paper a whlie back.some OAP lady got busted, dragged through the courts, and left with a record because of that. All because their husband retained their service revolver (question-weren't they GIVEN to british officers who had seen their service out?) and been so inconsiderate of jonny law and the govt as to die without handing it in.
And it more or less makes certain that any incident like the paris attacks, or the recent incident in belgium WILL end up as a bloodbath, because there is almost certain to be nobody packing. Meanwhile the gangbangers without either the contacts to buy a gun, or sufficient skills to go and build something a bit more....high-tech than a powder-based firearm, like PIKLs/PEPs, ECT guns, coil/rail based gauss weapons, chemical munitions, that kind of thing go out and shank some innocent party for their wallet.
If you AREN'T a thug, then there is much much less chance to begin with that the owner of a firearm will use it in such a way, or indeed, use violence at all, outside the realms of either self defense against such a threat or hunting. To whit, how many poncy toff bellends do you see switching from grouse hunting to predator sport hunting for human skulls? If that weren't true then everyone has access to knives here, and pretty much everywhere else, but you don't see people of good nature, engaging in that sort of behaviour BECAUSE they are not of a violent thuggish nature. I've only ever once drawn a blade in anger against someone, and even then, it was used to disarm the katana being swung my way, and it was my FIST, not my blade, that then got used to put the one wielding the other sword down.Dropped with a punch in the face, not sliced to pieces.or stabbed, although of course I could have chosen to were that my nature or inclination. It isn't, so it wasn't. I expect this is a generality rather than a personal character trait applicably to myself only.
, and quacks like a 
