Yes, violence at sporting events appals me too, Bill, and it was by attending a baseball game in Houston and feeling the friendly atmosphere there that I came to realise how horrible a "certain section" of our crowds can be. But the government, the police, the game's controlling body, and the clubs themselves have taken, and are continuing to take, action to reduce the incidence of violent outbreaks and, in the UK at least, things are far better now than they were some years ago.

I'm not anti-American, I admire much about your country, your people, your way of life, and I've enjoyed immensely the five spells I've spent there on business. But I believe the wilful denial of common sense, the refusal to accept that, on the gun question, Americans can be wrong, and the false-reasoning and obfuscation of the lead-heads demeans an otherwise great nation.