The Committee conducted nationwide public hearings, sponsored research and published a wide range of materials on aspects of violence, sponsored a conference, and submitted its findings to the Federal and State governments. The first broad component of the national gun control strategy proposed by the NCV was to reduce the number of weapons contained in Australia's firearms arsenal. Survey findings showed that there are at least 3.5 million guns in the hands of private Australian citizens, and more than 25 percent of all households own a gun. Because of Australian demographics and attitudes toward gun ownership, the NCV did not opt for a firearms-free society, but sought instead to introduce stringent and uniform procedures to license and control gun owners in an effort to reduce the number of gun-related deaths and injuries. 1 table, 7 figures, and 7 references