(rant)For the most current example of what Prohibition does, look at the effects of the "Drug War" on the USA and the world. As a result of this travesty, we have one of the largest (if not THE largest) prison populations as a percentage of population, entire city areas devastated by drug money fueled gang warfare, corruption up to the highest levels of government (Iran/Contra, anyone?), a Congress that has enacted several severely un-Constitutional laws (which are finally being repealed by the Supreme Court), and a mindset that values punishment at all costs over rehabilitation.
And that's just in this country.
The US has exerted pressure several times to create "Drug War" machinery in other countries, and has strongarmed other governments into shutting down treatment programs (Britain's heroin maintenance program being a prime example).
Where does this tie in to the subject of guns and Americans in general? I think that the duality of a government yelling "Drugs are illegal" combined with a vast majority of said government's citizens blatantly ignoring said law creates the same sort of lawless atmosphere that bred the organized crime of the '30s. With that comes the lessening of the value of human life, and the attendant social problems. You see the results amongst a small but increasingly frightening minority - - kids with guns, bloody shootouts, drive bys, etc. Thankfully, they are exactly that - a small minority of the population.
The Drug War isn't the entire problem. But god knows that it's a big part of it (IMHO).
(/rant)
M