Historian Alvin Toffler says that violence, money, and knowledge are three sources of power and that violence is the lowest form of power. The 131 research papers sent to the Journal of the American Medical Center confirm that violence is a medical and public health issue as well as a general issue in the United States. Violence has increased, especially among certain groups, in the 7 years since the Surgeon General's Workshop on Violence and Public Health in October 1985. Research articles in this journal reveal extraordinarily high firearm fatality rates in many core metropolitan counties, loaded handguns that are not locked up in many households with children, and easy student access to handguns. The right to own a handgun should carry with it the same kinds of conditions associated with the right to own or operate a motor vehicle. Anything short of registration and licensing for gun ownership and use would be too little action to recommend at this item, despite the opposition of lobby groups that support the unfettered ownership and use of guns. 11 references