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In exemplification to extend guns such as jostle weapons (rifles and shotguns), handguns are smaller, lighter, cheaper, and easier to carry
- Since firearms don't rely on the user's strength, they put weaker individuals on an equal defensive footing; when Colt produced the first practical repeating handgun, it gave rise to the saying Pistols "God created men, but Colt made them equal".,
Civilian property of handguns in Australia is legal, but heavily restricted. Handguns may not be owned for self-defence purposes (Target shooting, collecting, and occupational reasons for farmers/gun dealers are, by and large, the only chartered reasons for handgun ownership), and anyone wishing to possess a handgun must obtain a firearms licence and observe stringent storage regulations.