A COMPREHENSIVE COUNTRY-BY-COUNTRY COMPARISON WOULD BE REQUIRED TO RELATE THE TYPE OF GUN CONTROL EXERCISED BY THE STATE AND THE EXTENT TO WHICH FIREARMS ARE AVAILABLE TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC, LEGALLY AND ILLEGALLY, WITH THE LEVEL OF ARMED CRIME. CONTRARY TO COMMON INSUPPORTABLE ASSUMPTIONS, THE INFORMATION AVAILABLE FOR SOUND ANALYSIS TENDS TO INDICATE THAT STATUTORY CONTROLS ON THE PRIVATE OWNERSHIP OF FIREARMS ARE IRRELEVANT TO THE PROBLEM OF ARMED CRIME. CONSIDERING THE HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE OF 50 YEARS OF STRICT CONTROLS IN BRITAIN, CRIME WAS LESS WHEN THERE WERE NO SUCH CONTROLS, AND THE CRIMINAL USE OF GUNS HAS GREATLY INCREASED DURING THE PERIOD OF CONTROL. A MYTH PREVALENT AMONG BRITISH LEGISLATORS CONCERNING THE CORRELATION BETWEEN THE LACK OF GUN CONTROL IN THE UNITED STATES AND THE HIGH CRIME RATE IN THAT COUNTRY IS SHOWN TO BE IN ERROR. ACTUALLY, THOUSANDS OF AMERICAN STATUTES RESTRICT THE PRIVATE OWNERSHIP OF FIREARMS. THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN STUDY OF GUN CONTROL INDICATES THAT THE STATUTES THEMSELVES HAVE HAD NO SIGNIFICANT EFFECT IN LOWERING THE ARMED CRIME RATE. THE RATE OF VIOLENT CRIME AND THE TYPE OF WEAPON INVOLVED IN THAT CRIME HAS MORE RELEVANCE TO THE ETHNIC ORIGINS OF THE OFFENDER THAN TO THE AVAILABILITY OF FIREARMS. ALTHOUGH HOMICIDE RATES IN THE UNITED STATES ARE HIGHER THAN THOSE IN BRITAIN, THE U.S. RATES ARE LOWER THAN THOSE IN MEXICO WHERE THERE ARE STRICT GUN CONTROLS. THE TOTAL BAN ON FIREARMS IN JAMAICA INITIALLY REDUCED THE CRIME RATE, BUT SUBSEQUENTLY WAS FOLLOWED BY A DECIDED INCREASE IN VIOLENT CRIME AND POLITICAL TURMOIL. REFERENCES ARE PROVIDED. (TWK)