Lawrence, I know you read a lot, but you seem never to have read Robert's post on this. I excerpt *************** Many experts say Nigeria's problems with small arms and light weapons date back to the country's 1967-1970 civil war, during which the southeast made a failed attempt to secede. "Many of the small arms used in that war, especially on the rebel Biafran side, weren't mopped up at the end of hostilities," said Patrick Oraeke, a security consultant. He said the war created a generation of people who had trained in the use of weapons but were not under the discipline and control of any of the armed forces. As a result, they easily resorted to banditry. "The surge in armed robberies and violent crimes in Nigeria that followed the civil war is yet to abate," he added. *********** obviously political structure and political culture are important (as well as specific pieces of legislation, that is -- I agree with Paul on this); the UK was probably pretty gun-awash at the end of WWII, the Home Guard, an overt organisation, was armed, so was the (covert) Resistance-in-Waiting. (For new work on the Home Guard see http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/04/16/nguard16.xml ) and some people, probably, many, retained their weapons afterwards. But that has not been a problem. So, there may be something peculiar about the US's political culture (when compared with other liberal democracies) that makes for the violence and the political attachment to guns and the propensity to use them. Here's what George Saunders (usually, in Guardian Weekend, relaxed and witty on the differences between our countries) has to say http://www.guardian.co.uk/weekend/story/0,,2065967,00.html LH> I puzzled over this comment: "Last year the police carried out a dawn raid > on Orilowo-Ejigbo, a Lagos suburb, and arrested three men after seizing a > cache of arms that was sufficient to outfit a 20-man army." Was this cache > from the homeowners who wished to defend themselves? Perhaps. A cache that > could outfit a 20-man army doesn't sound terribly large by San Jacinto > standards, but it apparently seemed large to the Nigerian authorities. perhaps Nigeria's more civilised? LH>Nigeria is a nation that has attempted draconian gun-control l ike you want, Mike. It hasn't worked. not surprisingly (civil war, aftermath, political instability...); does that mean it wouldn't work in the US? perhaps -- cf my musings above -- it would not work in the US, but not, because Nigeria hasn't been able to implement it. After all, Iraq hasn't managed to implement a liberal democracy but the US has (so we are told). Weird, yes? Judy Evans, Cardiff ------------------------------------------------------------------ To change your Lit-Ideas settings (subscribe/unsub, vacation on/off, digest on/off), visit www.andreas.com/faq-lit-ideas.html