In Saudi Arabia the security forces have been fighting gun battles on an almost weekly basis with well-armed Islamist militants.

BBC: Is US winning its war on terror?

Among the most sought after are a collection of early revolutionary war muskets produced by the Committee of Safety, a group of American gun makers who copied British muskets and supplied them to militia units fighting for the colonies.

FORBES: Hot Shots

The rebels in mostly Muslim southern provinces are fighting for greater autonomy from Buddhist-majority Thailand and carry out almost daily gun and bomb attacks against civilians and security forces.

BBC: Thailand signs peace talks deal with Muslim rebels

I'm even cautiously optimistic that the current impasse over gun regulation is a bad-equilibrium that few consumers actually want, and that a reconstructed Freedom Group, fighting for sensible change as a fifth column from within the industry, might well find that many people -- even a significant portion of the NRA's members -- would buy from a truly responsible (and high quality) gunmaker if given the chance.

CNN: Freedom Group, a gunmaker ripe for an ethical takeover