🔗 Share this article

In the aftermath of the horrific incident at Bondi, Australia is facing multiple pressing conversations. We are seeing a much-needed national focus on anti-Jewish sentiment, an ongoing concern about national security, and inquiries about how such an tragedy could occur. However, as viewed of a public health expert and Jewish Australian, the most important discussion we are now having centers on firearms.

Ten Years of Cautions and a Successful Solution

Health experts have been issuing warnings about guns for a minimum of a ten-year period. In the wake of the Port Arthur massacre, Australians united and enacted a series of reforms to reduce gun violence across the country. And it worked. Before 1996, the nation experienced roughly one mass shooting per year. In the decades since, there have been vanishingly few significant tragedies, with none reaching the death toll of the incidents in the 1980s and 1990s.

The Bondi Tragedy and the Role of Current Regulations

Even during the Bondi tragedy, the nation's gun laws were partially effective. Reports indicate the individuals involved might have been armed with bolt-action rifles and a straight-pull shotgun. These firearms can only fire a single bullet at a time, requiring a manual operation to chamber the next round. Although these guns are capable of being discharged quite quickly with lethal results, they remain significantly less rapid and less efficient than the high-capacity, self-loading rifles commonplace in overseas attacks. The casualty count at Bondi could have been much greater if different weapons had been accessible.

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

Legislation Showing Weakness

However, the horrific toll of the incident demonstrates that current gun laws are failing. Designed in the late 1990s with the best of intentions, years have worn away their effectiveness. Concerningly, there are currently more firearms in Australia than prior to the Port Arthur shooting, with some citizens in urban areas owning collections numbering in the hundreds.

We have been overconfident and it has cost us terribly.

The Path Ahead: Proposed Reforms

In the time after the Bondi tragedy, there have been multiple announcements regarding new gun laws. The state of NSW specifically will soon enact a package of reforms to mitigate the collective risk from firearms. The federal government has announced a new gun buyback, and there is potential for a countrywide gun database, despite the complexities of coordinating state and federal governments.

These measures are only possible provided that the nation works together. As noted, when it comes to firearm laws, the country is only as strong as its least stringent jurisdiction. This is the reality of the Australian federation – regulations in one state are easily circumvented if they can be avoided with a journey across a border.

Countering Common Arguments

There is the inevitable argument that "firearms are not the killers, people kill people". This is true in the identical way that aircraft do not fly passengers, aviators do. Certainly, planes can't fly themselves, but it would be quite challenging for a pilot to transport 500 people internationally without the aircraft. The horrific violence seen at Bondi would be all but impossible without firearms, and would have been far less damaging if the alleged terrorists had been denied access to the firearms they possessed.

Weighing Need and Security

It is acknowledged there are legitimate needs for some Australians to own firearms. Farm work or culling pests in many places is extremely difficult without them. A total ban of guns from the country is not feasible, as in some cases they are essential tools.

The achievable goal – what we must do – is to guarantee that gun laws are updated to accurately reflect the society we live in today. Australia's legislation have historically been the admiration of the world, but time and distance has taken a toll and the nation is no longer as safe as it previously was. It is critical to take the lessons of Bondi seriously, and ensure that coming Australians are as protected as past generations have been.

As one friend remarked after the Bondi events, "things like this just don't happen here". This is true, but solely due to the fact that the country has made concerted efforts to keep itself safe. As nightmarish as the incident was, there is an aspiration that it can serve as the last one the nation ever sees.