In the middle east right now, places with high education are less violent. YOu don't honestly think that all those people who are fighting are well educated, can you? On top of that, much of the intra-region violence is ethnically rather than religiously motivated. Not all, but much.
More wholesale conversions happened when people weren't reading the Bible. So your argument is still faulty. Remember, you can't look at the invention of the printing press as the start of wholesale education about religion. Even after that, books were still incredibly expensive and books only became more common much later (y'know, when the Catholic Church stopped encouraging all the presses be destroyed).
The only aberration I can think of to this rule is Ireland. One exception doesn't disprove a general trend though, and my understanding is that most of the violence is as much, if not more, politically motivated (get those Brits out of Eire!) than religious. (Brits are typically Protestant, the Irish Catholic).
More wholesale conversion (and violence!) occurred when "well meaning" Christians entered "pagan" lands and forced them to join, rather than sharing scriptures with them and encouraging them to join peacefully. Legitimate missionary work, traditionally, has not been the source of much violence, with the ocassional exception of the missionaries being killed themselves. Thus removing their tools will not help reduce violence.
I think you'll find that after the Reformation, which winds down, coincidentally, as printed scripture becomes more available, religiously motivated violence drops, except in those religions where the government is a theocracy and the people are not well trained in their own religion.
I don't think I missed your point at all. Parents, even good parents, can't always tell if their kids are going through a phase or if they have a serious imbalance. I spent a year in high school where I suddenly started listening to heavy metal, watching some rather violent films, and generally making changes to my lifestyle. This was a phase. To the untrained parent, however, signs of someone actually going instable would be quite similar. What would you rather think about your child? That he's a crazy psycho or he's just exploring new realms during his adolescence? So no, I don't think that people always have someone near who can help them. But restricting access to triggers *will* help.
As for trusting the government. Ours is of, by, and for the people. I don't trust it unilaterally, but saying I don't trust it completely means I don't trust people. Thus, if I don't trust the government, I don't trust the people to do it on their own (they sure as heck aren't now, are they?). The government is a little more reliable in it's capability to enforce it. As a people we just need to make sure the law is reasonable. This one has consequences are not. But the spirit of regulation certainly is.