Dervish said
Up here in Canada, especially out West, gun ownership is pretty much normal and nothing special. We have a big hunting culture and it's not hard to find a shooting range. The vast majority of gun owners are responsible, law abiding people who know that screwing around can lead to stricter, stupid laws that just punish everyone needlessly. It's not as weird as you might think, most of it's out of sight, out of mind.
Interesting thing is, it's actually pretty common and widespread here in Calif. Maybe in the urban areas it's a bit more stigmatized, but all the suburban/rural areas I've lived or been to have had tons of gun owners. Most people I known up here have guns, and it's not a huge deal to people. Lots of hunters too.