It’s now 22 years since Australia effectively eliminated mass killings with firearms by enacting some of the strictest gun laws in the world. Today, Australians remain outrageously free in their peaceful cities and polls say 90 percent of the population strongly support the limitations on firearms. It was the horrifying slaughter of 35 people by a 28-year-old mentally deranged man in 1996 that shocked the nation into action. The newly-elected prime minister, John Howard, used his fresh political power to get agreement from the Australian states to ban the importation of most weapons and tighten drastically the conditions for ownership. Self defense is not an acceptable reason to own a gun in Australia. A person must have a firearms licence to possess or use a gun. Licence holders must demonstrate a “genuine reason” for holding a firearm licence and must not be a “prohibited person”. All firearms must be registered by serial number to the owner, who also holds a firearms licence. Where is the Canadian leader at the federal level who will show us the way out of gun madness. There are challenges. Canada is bigger and more diverse than Australia. It is next door to the US. But it must be done.