<I don't quite understand....England being in favor of gun control (and most of the other democratic nations too), is thus leftist? To live in a democracy is thus to be a leftist? Wow, so I'm certainly proud to be a leftist!

Not quite sure how you arrive at "gun control" equals "democracy." Obviously, a democracy can be leftist. In fact, given the tendency for people to vote goodies out of other people's pockets, it's hard for a democracy unrestrained by higher principles to NOT become leftist.

Only after the leftward policies proceed to the point where the system collapses and "sterner measures" are required does the democracy get left in the dust. With any luck, those parts of Europe that are not currently working on climbing out of just such a totalitarian hellhole will be able to avoid this fate. It's looking hopeful.

BTW, couldn't help noticing the complete and total omission in your post of any reference to the entire point of the article I linked, which was the failure of gun control to make a nation safer. Which I guess goes a long way towards proving the point I made in the rest of my post.

Another way to combat crime is to put cameras in most public areas, and it does seem to work.

I don't have statistics on this, although I did read an article where East London police spoke highly of the concept. Still, I notice that cameras don't seem to keep banks from being robbed. And who gets to do the watching?

Speaking of streetcorner cameras: Recommended reading--very highly recommended--Alan Moore's "V for Vendetta."