🔗 Share this article

Following the tragedy of the horrific attack at Bondi, Australia is facing multiple pressing reckonings. We are seeing a much-needed national focus on antisemitism, an ongoing concern about national security, and questions about how such an tragedy could happen. However, as viewed of a public health expert and Australian Jew, the most important discussion we are now having revolves around firearms.

Ten Years of Cautions and a Proven Response

Public health specialists have been issuing warnings about guns for at least a decade. In the wake of the Port Arthur massacre, Australians united and implemented a series of reforms to reduce gun violence nationwide. The strategy succeeded. Prior to 1996, the nation experienced approximately one mass shooting per year. In the decades since, there have been extremely rare significant tragedies, with none approaching the fatalities of the incidents in the 1980s and 1990s.

The Bondi Attack and the Role of Existing Regulations

Even during the Bondi events, the nation's gun laws were partially effective. It has been suggested the alleged attackers possessed with bolt-action rifles and at least one straight-pull shotgun. These firearms are limited to firing a one round at a time, requiring a manual operation to chamber the next round. While these guns are capable of being discharged rapidly with devastating effect, they remain significantly less rapid and more cumbersome than the large-magazine, semi-automatic rifles commonplace in overseas mass shootings. The casualty count at Bondi would've been far higher if more advanced firearms had been accessible.

Preventing a future Bondi requires unity across all states. Regrettably, there are already fissures in the united front.

Legislation Showing Weakness

However, the horrific toll of the incident reveals that current firearm regulations are inadequate. Crafted in the late 1990s with the best of intentions, decades have worn away their effectiveness. Concerningly, there are now a greater number of guns in Australia than prior to the Port Arthur shooting, with some individuals in urban areas reportedly holding collections of hundreds of weapons.

We have been overconfident and it has exacted a terrible price.

The Path Ahead: Proposed Reforms

In the time after the Bondi attack, there have been numerous announcements regarding strengthened gun laws. New South Wales specifically will shortly enact a package of measures to reduce the public danger posed by firearms. The federal government has proposed a fresh gun buyback, and there is potential for a national firearms registry, notwithstanding the inherent challenges of aligning state and federal jurisdictions.

These measures are only possible if the nation acts in unison. As stated, regarding gun control, the country is dependent on its least stringent jurisdiction. This is the reality of the Australian federation – laws in one state are much less meaningful if they can be avoided with a short drive across a state line.

Addressing Common Objections

We hear the inevitable response that "guns don't kill people, individuals are". This is accurate in the identical way that aircraft do not fly passengers, pilots do. Certainly, planes can't fly themselves, but it would be virtually impossible for a pilot to transport 500 people overseas without the aircraft. The mass slaughter witnessed at Bondi would be extremely difficult without firearms, and would have been significantly less lethal if the accused individuals had not had access to the firearms they used.

Weighing Need and Security

There are legitimate needs for some Australians to possess guns. Farm work or culling pests in many places is incredibly hard without them. A total ban of guns from the country is not feasible, as in some cases they are essential tools.

The achievable goal – the imperative action – is to ensure that firearm legislation are modernized to accurately reflect the world we live in today. Australia's laws have long been the admiration of the world, but time and distance has done its work and the nation is no longer as safe as it once was. It is vital to take the lessons of Bondi to heart, and ensure that coming Australians are as protected as past generations have been.

As one commentator observed after the Bondi attack, "things like this just don't happen here". This is true, but only because the country has collectively worked to keep itself safe. However horrific as the incident was, there is hope that it can serve as the last one the nation experiences.