Maybe this place is little backwoods, but housebreakers here do not use handguns. At least i haven't heard from such irrelevant behavior in more than 20 years. Also guns are not usually used in street violence. Stolen guns usually end up abroad or into criminal gangs or drug dealers who use these among each other as they wish somewhere away from sights.
We have of course criminality here too, but even felons widely seem to know that using handgun to rob grandma's wallet is like shooting a little bird with a missile, and after such action that feline for sure would get hunted until caught. No wallet is worth dying and surely not worth killing for. I have no much experience from the burglars but i've heard this from friends in police.
Some 5 years ago we had one burglary attempt in the middle of the day when people usually are away. I was sleeping at home, and my door wasn't locked. When the burglar opened the door, my dogs started barking, so he closed the door and ran away before i could get up. When i reached the window i just saw man running away. We still do not lock our doors when home, day or night. Well some kids once stole few cd's from my car (door wasn't locked), but had i shot them i would have ended in jail.
Most violent acts here are made between people (family members, friends etc) who already know each other and usually when drunk. Most common weapon is the kitchen knife or axe. It scary to imagine what would happen if all those had handguns.
But as i said. We are far from the big world.