We can, and rifles too although they limit how much ammo you can hold with the rifles.
That limiting seems to be totally arbitrary as well. I know a guy who's into WWII reconstructions and he got a .303 rifle and needed a firearms certificate (FAC). He was allowed to have up to 2000 rounds at a time despite the fact he never fires the thing.
I know another guy who's a pest controller and has a .22 rabbit gun. He's allowed a max of 100 rounds at a time even though he uses the weapon all he time. So he's got the gunsmith on speed dial!
The handgun ban was a knee jerk reaction the the dunblane massacre. It really was a tragic event, but all the handgun ban did was stop the hobbyists. And surprise surprise since the ban crime committed with illegal pistols and machine guns (which have never been legal) have sky rocketed.
It annoyed me a lot because I just got into pistol shooting when the ban happened and I knew the ban wouldn't stop gun crime. If you're a bank robber do you really care that your gun is illegal? Probably not.
Anyway, don't want to hijack the thread! :D