I'm kind of glad about the law, because, even though I can still obtain a handgun legally, the hoops you have to jump through make it harder for immature kids to obtain one.
Then why were us kids back in the day,'40's,'50's,'60's not killing each other? We could get anything we wanted by mail order or the local hardware store.
The difference is society raises children much older now. If you treat someone like an irresponsible child that is not capable of making adult decisions until they are older, they are not capable of making them until they are older.
Even regardless of how a parent acts, society as a whole has shifted significantly in that direction, with laws, attitudes, and expectations.
It used to be common for teenagers to have thier rifles and shotguns in thier vehicles in the school parking lot. Many schools also had shooting teams. They still had fights, and still had bullying and problems, but even with hundreds of firearms within reach guns rarely become involved.
Of course it also used to be very common for teenagers to get married and start a career fresh from high school.
Today college is the norm, and colleges still treat most of thier students as young children that need to be looked after. Children who need to be restricted for thier own safety and irresponsibility.
The result? Much of the population is still a child well into thier 20s, and likewise about as responsible as a young teenager was a few generations ago.
Handguns do take slightly more responsibility than long arms to both operate and own. It is easier to point them in the wrong direction during handling or operation, and it is easier to put one into a pocket and take it where you shouldn't.
It is no coincidence that most negligent discharges as well as most criminal and self defense shootings take place with handguns. A person can't walk around town blending in with a rifle all day. They can with a handgun.