Well, many are and ~all have the option to be If you know the people sent to arrest you if they catch you won’t be armed, and you’re the sort of hothead who robs people, why not have a pistol you can point at the cops to keep them away from you as you escape

In most countries the answer is “because it’s hard to get one” but that doesn’t fly here

Anyone stupid enough to rob a store or speed or cary large amounts of drugs had a shitty 9mm pistol usually a Taurus a hi point or a Glock with the illegal Glock switch for fully automatic