I don't think the argument is about "are we free". If you want that kind of society we should have anarchy. By your logic you could make the argument to legalise almost anything -we should just leave it up to the population to make sure they do the right thing... Laws obviously impose on our freedom for the greater good. You have to weigh up the pro's and cons of access to guns. In all honesty I can't see ANY pros of access to guns - they only make things worse and escalate violence in every situation they are used. Banning guns is a step to reducing crime. In terms of harsher punishments - this is a deterrent. You still rely on people to be sane enough to be deterred. Some people just won't care either way. Minimising access is a more direct route to prevention. Also when you put "some" in your statement, I feel like it is only people in countries that currently have guns legalised. I have never met a European (and I've lived in France, Switzerland and the UK as well as visited many other countries) that wants to legalised guns in their respective country of birth. Switzerland which you mentioned is a special case, but in general they are a special case. They are not even official EU members.