there were all sorts of legal restrictions on handguns. OTOH, rifles and shotguns were almost totally free of controls and regulation. This made sense at the time, handguns were concealable, and were suited to robbery and street time, while long guns were common and on display on many pickups and on the street in what was a very rural and agricultural society.

Today, handguns take the most lives by far, but military style weapons are involved in the most dramatic mass shooting events, so the emphasis on control seems to have reversed.

The moral, of course, is that gun control legislation, which as a gun owner I enthusiastically support, should be well thought out, and guided by study and research, not public fashion and political considerations.