[Otaku]

Originally Posted by Otaku

I didn't even think an example was necessary (though it is appreciated); it shouldn't be any great stretch of the imagination that those with power would find ways for the rules to apply to everyone else. Only a hopeful stretch that some would resist the tyranny as best as they could.

This was a failed attempt at being more concise; I originally wrote more and then edited it down. In doing so... I'm not quite sure what point I was going for. I do believe I was indeed referencing some other earlier comments.

To try again:

1) Obviously there are governments opposed to private citizens owning firearms; sometimes of any type, sometimes just specific types. Those with the correct wealth and connections can often bypass this.

2) Some governments oppose organizing anything resembling a "private army". Others are fine with it.

When the two combine, you might find that those with the correct combination of wealth and influence can field a private army while the more general citizenry cannot. Level of wealth/influence as well as the CR for the society could leave most firearms banned or more heavily regulated than something like a bow and arrow (even an ultra tech enhanced one). For a severely controlling society, it may even be a temporary loophole that the party happens to arrive in a timely fashion to exploit.

Moving from the realm of the legal to the illegal, it may be something similar, only the line is a little fuzzier; said criminals might be perfectly fine breaking the law but lack the resources to obtain firearms anyway or may be taking advantage of certain aspects of the system. If you had an even more restrictive society, for example, organized crime would likely rely heavily on construction tools and equipment that could easily function as weapons (with or without modification). There may be better examples; that one just popped into my head (and perhaps such a society would consider the capacity to build something that also needs to be similarly controlled).

So the general tone is that... no, bizarre standards that don't make much sense are not uncommon in the world. They often arise due to oversights in the law or due to people intentionally playing around with the law.