Those countries have never been free. At least not as free until recently. They have always been ruled by one person (dictator), monarchs, oligarchs and the like. They have been told from the time of their existence that having any means of self defense is evil and bad. I'm sorry but no one is better than anyone else. We all have equal value. Kings and peasants are the same. And this is coming from a non-spiritual, non-religious, agnostic. And yes the laws should be up to the people. That is what a constitutional republic is. It is the people (representatives) who decide what laws they support. The constitution specifically lays out that the states have the power to govern themselves. The one size fits all governance of the federal government isn't how this country was founded.