Flap,
A driver's license is NOT sufficient to get a handgun ANYWHERE in the U.S.
The Brady Law (a federal law) now requires a background check on all gun buyers. A person who walks into a store has to fill out a federal form, and then submit to an instant check through NICS (FBI database). When a background check brings up a red flag (a criminal conviction or sharing a similar name with a convicted felon are common glitches), the purchaser gets DENIED or DELAYED. So there are your federal point-of-sale safeguards. You have to be 18 to buy a rifle or shotgun and you have to be 21 to get a handgun.
And as you know, many states like the Nannywealth of Massachusetts impose additional and much tougher restrictions like additional state permits and background checks.
So your view on the easy availability of handguns, at least through retail establishments, is incorrect.
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