While in Japan, I was quizzed by someone who wanted to know why Americans are so hard on cigarette smokers these days, when it's still so easy to get guns here. I tried to explain that the places where there's tight smoking regulation -- New York, Boston -- are also places where it's difficult for ordinary citizens to get a gun permit (much less concealed carry).

My interlocutor was presumably unaware of Alabama, where it seems, as Xeni at BoingBoing says, that you could walk down the street selling assault rifles and dildos, and be arrested for the dildos.

This is not helping, folks. This is not helping at all...