There actually is a lot of gun control in the USA. There are cities that ban most all guns and cities that require elaborate permits for a gun and then only for certain people. On the other hand, there are places like where I live and we can have firearms on our person, openly or concealled, providing we can legally own that gun. Convicted felons and such cannot own a firearm, that's probably nationwide.
I can go shoot my guns at indoor ranges nearby or at outdoor ranges some miles away. If I want to drive enven further out in the wilderness, I can shoot my gun anywhere as long as I don't shoot over a road or from the road.
I guess 20 years in the military and having fired lots of guns in my lifetime, I just have little desire to go shoot any now. I own some, from six shooters and lever action "John Wayne" rifles to autoload handguns. I used to have a legally licensed machine gun with a 10 inch barrel, a M16A2 carbine, like an M4 without the Picanny rails. We can still own machine guns but it has to be one manufactured before May 1986, IIRC. Then you go through a whole government license process and you get a "tax stamp" for the machine gun and you can then own, shoot and carry the thing.
It would be hard to accept any other way of life. It seems so strange to hear that you can't own a handgun. I suppose you get used to that and accept it. Like I said, I never shoot mine, I just don't want to give them up either. Cheers!