IT IS ARGUED THAT NO OBJECTIVE STUDIES EXIST INDICATING THAT GUN CONTROL MEASURES AFFECT A REDUCTION IN VIOLENT CRIMES. ALTHOUGH THE LOW INCIDENCE OF VIOLENT CRIME IN COUNTRIES WITH STRICT GUN CONTROL IS ACKNOWLEDGED, THE CITIZEN CHARACTERISTICS AND CIRCUMSTANCES UNRELATED TO GUN CONTROL ARE UNDERSCORED AS REASONS FOR THE LOW INCIDENCE OF VIOLENT CRIME. THE PROBLEM OF RETRIEVING OR LICENSING WEAPONS ALREADY POSSESSED, THE COST OF CONFISCATING BANNED WEAPONS, AND THE IMPLEMENTATION AND ENFORCEMENT OF GUN CONTROL LAWS ARE PRINCIPAL REASONS CITED FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE STATUS QUO. IT IS NOTED THAT THE OWNERSHIP OF GUNS IS PERCEIVED AS AN INTEGRAL PART OF THE SUBCULTURE OF MANY AMERICANS, AND THAT ACCIDENTAL DEATHS, SUICIDES, AND THE USE OF GUNS IN FAMILY HOMICIDES ARE NOT SEEN AS SIGNIFICANT REASONS FOR INTERFERING WITH A LONG ESTABLISHED TRADITION OF GUN OWNERSHIP. IT IS ARGUED THAT GUN CONTROL, UNDER CONDITIONS EXISTING IN THE U.S. TODAY (1976), HAS PRACTICALLY NOTHING TO DO WITH CRIME CONTROL. THE GUN CONTROL ISSUE IS PERCEIVED TO BE SYMPTOMATIC OF A FUNDAMENTAL DIVISION IN THE NATION BETWEEN THOSE WHO SEE EUROPE AS A MODEL OF A CIVILIZED SOCIETY, WHERE DECISIONS ARE MADE RATIONALLY AND JUSTLY BY INTELLIGENT MEN FOR THE ENTIRE NATION, AND THOSE FOR WHOM THE FRONTIERSMAN IS SEEN AS THE AMERICAN MODEL OF AN INDEPENDENT MAN CARING FOR HIMSELF AND HIS FAMILY WITH NO INTERFERENCE FROM THE STATE. (RCB)