"Gun Rights": Sorry, I totally overlooked your response to my safe guns missive. When I say "gun rights," I mean the "gun rights movement." By that I mean, I don't buy into the idea that anyone should have the un-checked right to own a gun of any type. I still believe (and I know this theory is batted around ad naseum) that the 2nd Amendment, and its inclusion of the word "militia" means that the government needed people to own guns because there was no government to speak of, much less a standing army. So, if our current government incarnation wants to impose 24-hour waiting periods, criminal background checks, and limit purchases to only certain types of guns, I'm all for it. I don't view this as a sign of the impending New World Order where the Jews control the world through the U.N. I find people like Michael Moore to be opportunistic blowhards, but his recent film "Bowling For Columbine" dares to connect death to guns. While the over-arching question is about why America is so violent (comparative to other Western countries), he does not shy away from the fact that a gun makes it much easier to kill. So, restrict guns, and you're still going to have violence, but now it's going to be knives and bats, which gives you a "fighting" chance anyway. Okay, this is much too simplistic, but it's indicative of my feeling on the issue, not detailed research.