>Not wanting to interrupt the debate ;-) but if you want to talk about bearing arms, you need to look at who has the most worth defending as well. The very latest peer-reviewed study puts the top 5 countries in the world for quality of life as France, Australia, Switzerland, Germany and New Zealand. 4 of those countries have far more rigid gun control than the US. The other makes it a requirement that male citizens receive military training and retain their firearm. That country has low crime rates, as do its neighbors in the top 5 with far stricter gun regulations. The point would seem to be that firearm regulations don't make as much difference to crime/quality of life as people seem to think: clearly other qualities matter more.

I agree. Crime matters, but it is not the only thing and in many cases, other economic conditions matter more or outweigh the level of crime (if the level of crime is not too severe as it is in some countries).