🔗 Share this article

Following the tragedy of the horrific incident at Bondi, Australia is confronting multiple critical conversations. We are seeing a long-overdue national focus on antisemitism, 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 dialogue we are now having revolves around firearms.

A Decade of Cautions and a Proven Solution

Public health specialists have been sounding alarms about firearms for at least a decade. Following the events of the Port Arthur tragedy, Australians united and implemented a series of reforms to curb gun violence across the country. And it worked. Prior to 1996, the nation witnessed approximately one large-scale firearm incident per year. In the decades since, there have been extremely rare major events, with none reaching the fatalities of the incidents in the 1980s and 1990s.

The Bondi Attack and the Function of Current Regulations

Amidst the Bondi tragedy, the nation's gun laws were partially effective. It has been suggested the individuals involved might have been armed with bolt-action rifles and at least one straight-pull shotgun. These firearms are limited to firing a single bullet at a time, necessitating a manual operation to chamber the next round. While these guns are capable of being discharged quite quickly with devastating effect, they remain significantly less rapid and more cumbersome than the high-capacity, semi-automatic rifles frequently used in international attacks. The casualty count at Bondi would've been far higher if different firearms had been accessible.

Preventing a future Bondi requires national cohesion. Regrettably, there are already cracks in the facade.

A System Under Strain

Yet, the horrific consequences of the attack reveals that current firearm regulations are inadequate. Crafted in the late 1990s with the noblest aims, decades have worn away their efficacy. Concerningly, there are currently a greater number of guns in Australia than before the Port Arthur massacre, with some citizens in cities reportedly holding collections numbering in the hundreds.

The nation has grown complacent and it has cost us terribly.

The Road Ahead: Proposed Changes

Since the Bondi attack, there have been multiple announcements regarding strengthened gun laws. New South Wales in particular will soon introduce a package of reforms to mitigate the public danger from firearms. The national government has proposed a new gun buyback, and there is potential for a countrywide gun database, notwithstanding the inherent challenges of aligning state and federal jurisdictions.

All of this are only possible provided that the nation acts in unison. As stated, regarding firearm laws, the country is only as strong as its weakest link. This is the reality of the Australian system – laws in one state are easily circumvented if they can be bypassed with a journey across a state line.

Addressing Frequent Objections

There is the inevitable response that "firearms are not the killers, individuals are". This is true in the same sense that planes don't transport people, aviators do. Certainly, aircraft require operators, but it would be quite challenging for a captain to move 500 people overseas without the aircraft. The mass slaughter seen at Bondi would be extremely difficult without guns, and would have been far less damaging if the alleged terrorists had been denied access to the firearms they possessed.

Balancing Need and Safety

There are valid needs for some Australians to possess guns. Farm work or controlling vermin in many places is incredibly hard without them. A complete removal of firearms from the country is not feasible, as in some cases they are indispensable.

What we can do – what we must do – is to ensure that gun laws are modernized to accurately reflect the society we live in today. Australia's laws have historically been the admiration of the world, but the passage of years has done its work and the nation is less secure as it once was. It is critical to take the lessons of Bondi seriously, and make certain that future generations are equally safe as past generations have been.

A friend observed after the Bondi events, "things like this just don't happen here". They don't, but only because the country has made concerted efforts to keep itself safe. However horrific as the incident was, there is an aspiration that it can become the final tragedy the nation ever sees.