Let's look at Mexico. The requirements to apply for a firearm license don't sound too stringent:
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mexicans-have-the-right-to-own-guns-but-few-do/
At least six separate documents are required to buy a gun: a birth certificate, a letter confirming employment, proof of a clean criminal record from the attorney general’s office in the applicant’s home state, a utility bill with current address, a copy of a government-issued ID and a federal social security number.
Like some are advocating here, a national registry, and no CCL:
Gun owners must register every weapon they have, and people say it’s nearly impossible to secure a concealed carry permit, something that’s allowed in the majority of U.S. states.
You send in your paperwork, but the Mexican Government knows what is best for you:
“If I put my papers in ... they’re going to take about three to four, even six months, and then send me a letter telling me that it’s the obligation of the state to provide security for all people in Mexico, so your permit is denied,” said Segurajauregui, who is a professor of design at Mexico’s Metropolitan Autonomous University.
He called that idiotic. “You can’t assign a soldier to preserve the security of each and every one of the people,” he said.
The Mexican Government doesn't really want you to have them anyway:
“It’s preferred not to have a gun, even at home, because there could be accidents or worse, accidents within families due to the mishandling of weapons. It’s like having a match close to a fire,” Tellez said. “It’s an obligation of the state to provide security to the people who live in the country, not for you to take justice into your own hands.”
But why would Mexican citizens want a firearm?
Some people aren’t confident about authorities’ ability to provide security.
On a recent day, Mexico City resident Alejandro Lozano came to pick up a hunting rifle after waiting about a week while his documents were processed. He said he keeps a handgun at home, but wishes he could legally carry it to protect himself from violent robberies targeting bus passengers, motorists at stoplights and customers emerging from banks and ATMs.
Do Mexican citizens have a valid concern?
Yet, while Mexico has a homicide rate more than five times higher than in the U.S., such sentiments have brought no widespread debate about gun rights, and there is no political push to ease firearm restrictions.
Firearm protection is mostly limited to police, the drug cartels, the military, and the financial elites that can afford security details. This is on our southern border. If the US government instituted the same restrictions in the US, do the gun control advocates think that in the next 50 or so years, we wouldn't have the same situation?
My friends that live here, and also have homes in Mexico say that when they go back to see family, they make sure to take bribe money, don't drive a car that they can't afford to loose, pray for safety, and a bit of luck. They keep their head down and try to look as inconspicuous as possible.
Again, I am not saying something can't be done. BC's ideas are palpable. But Mexico shows us that tight restrictions don't necessarily mean a drop in homicides. It has emboldened criminals, and the cartels that don't adhere to the laws anyway.
CHIEF