Gun-control, term that refers to the management of firearms in an effort to reduce criminal use of weapons. Gun-control generally is concerned with the passage of legislation- on a local, state, or national level-that places restrictions on legal ownership of certain firearms. These restrictions often involve mandatory waiting periods for prospective gun buyers or banning the sale of some weapons altogether. In the early 1990s there were more than 200 million privately owned guns in the United States alone. …
