Crime, particularly gun crime, and fear of crime, particularly fear of gun crime, could grow to the point where they distort social political activity in Australia. This is not an inevitable progression, but a public health posture requires that prevention programs be adopted; e.g., Australia is currently free from the plague of foot-and-mouth disease not because Australian cattle are immune but because of a continuous program of rigorous recordkeeping, inspection, and destruction procedures. Anyone who seriously argued against such controls would be ignored, and this should be the case with those who oppose reasonable measures of gun control. The handgun inventory should be kept low and as secure as possible through the continuation of restrictive licensing, universal registration, and a campaign against the entry of black-market handguns. Further, long-guns should be subject to both licensing and registration. Also, persons acquiring a shooter's license of any category for the first time should be trained in safe handling and competency. All matters related to gun control should be coordinated by the governments of the States, the Territories, and the Commonwealth, so as to ensure uniform and complementary control efforts. In implementing the gun control program, attention should be given to issues of civil liberty and due process. Moreover, legislatures should enact legislation that makes the use of a firearm in a crime a separate and distinct offense. While no further research is needed to establish the injurious effects of the nonregulation of gun ownership and use, further research is needed to identify ways in which gun control measures might be more effective. Seventy-seven notes are listed.