ABSTRACT
In an oft-quoted article published in 1976, Bruce-Biggs characterized the perennial debate in American political life over what to do about firearms as "The Great American Gun War", suggesting a rather more rancorous and hotly contested arena of public policy than one normally might expect to encounter. A session of the Congress seldom passes without at least a few new "gun control" measures being introduced, be they amendments to existing regulations or proposals for entirely new policies. The intended effect of virtually every piece of "gun-crime" legislation enacted in the twentieth century has been along one or the other of the lines suggested earlier: to prevent criminals from obtaining guns or to prevent them from using guns once obtained. The ideal policy complicates the life of the gun-wielding felon but not the lives of legitimate firearms users, at least not unduly.
