Samhain
For what it's worth, I tend to agree with most of what you're saying. Most college age kids ARE "not quite there." After all, many of the 18-22 crowd have come straight from high school into college. They're book smart, but not necessarily street smart. Too little "real world" experience, given that the majority of them have been or still are living under parental oversight (I'm as guilty as them).

That being said, those that are a bit older, or have worked before going to college, usually are a bit more seasoned. As people rightfully point out, most of our soldiers are in that same age bracket. But the difference is, they have training, and are working, and are seeing overseas tours. I'm sure most vets on here would agree that it matures a person rather quickly.

To those that say more armed citizens are a deterrent, I beg to differ (though admittedly, this can be argued many ways). In most countries of the world, firarms are easy to get. Yet, there is still violence. It seems that between Africa and South America, there are always a few coups or 'ethnic cleansing' attempts in the making. Perhaps the argument shouldn't be against armed citizenry, so much as avoiding the mob mentality of armed persons? 1000 individuals with guns are armed citizens, 1000 buddies are a militia (insert your own "unit" here).

If anyone has ever read "Starship Troopers" (no, the movie is way different), there was an idea that citizenship had to be earned. Only after being a citizen was one allowed voting priveleges. It's an interesting concept: after voluntarily service for 'the greater good,' one is more likely to keep their fellow countrymen in mind, and act accordingly. One solution might be for only certain folks to be allowed weapons (former/current police, former/current military, perhaps needing a standardized training course for ownership, etc). Of course... this would be a HUGE political and emotional nightmare!

Anyway, just some random thoughts while I procrastinate.