Yes, but please do bear in mind that this 17 guns per people statistic is averaging out nations such as England, that ban private gun ownership almost completely, with nations such as Germany, where private citizens buy almost as many guns as Americans (per capita).
We already covered that there are major differences between the various nations.
That is a rather funny quote you found. :)
I understand. And I am surprised to learn about Germany and especially France. As I said, it was my assumption that Europeans were largely unarmed.