🔗 Share this article

Following the tragedy of the horrific incident at Bondi, Australia is confronting multiple pressing reckonings. There is a long-overdue national spotlight on antisemitism, an persistent concern about public safety, and questions about how such an tragedy could occur. But, as viewed of a public health expert and Jewish Australian, the paramount discussion we are now having revolves around firearms.

A Decade of Cautions and a Successful Response

Public health specialists have been sounding alarms about guns for at least a ten-year period. Following the events of the Port Arthur massacre, Australians united and enacted a suite of measures to reduce gun violence across the country. And it worked. Before 1996, the nation witnessed roughly one mass shooting per year. In the decades since, there have been vanishingly few significant tragedies, with none reaching the fatalities of the incidents in the 1980s and 1990s.

This Recent Tragedy and the Role of Existing Regulations

Amidst the Bondi events, the nation's gun laws were partially effective. It has been suggested the individuals involved might have been armed with manually-operated long guns and at least one straight-pull shotgun. These firearms can only fire a single bullet at a time, necessitating a manual operation to chamber the next round. While these guns can be fired rapidly with devastating effect, they remain significantly less rapid and more cumbersome than the high-capacity, self-loading rifles commonplace in overseas attacks. The number of deaths at Bondi could have been much greater if different firearms had been available.

Preventing a future Bondi requires national cohesion. And unfortunately, we have already seen cracks in the facade.

A System Under Strain

However, the terrible consequences of the attack demonstrates that existing gun laws are inadequate. Designed in the late 1990s with the noblest aims, years have worn away their effectiveness. Alarmingly, there are currently more firearms in Australia than prior to the Port Arthur massacre, with some individuals in cities reportedly holding arsenals numbering in the hundreds.

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

The Road Forward: Announced Reforms

In the time after the Bondi tragedy, there have been numerous announcements regarding strengthened firearm legislation. The state of NSW in particular will soon introduce a suite of measures to mitigate the collective risk posed by firearms. The federal government has announced a new firearm surrender scheme, and there is hope for a countrywide gun database, notwithstanding the inherent challenges of coordinating state and federal jurisdictions.

These measures are feasible provided that the nation acts in unison. As noted, when it comes to firearm laws, the country is dependent on its weakest link. This is the reality of the Australian federation – regulations in one state are much less meaningful if they can be avoided with a journey across a border.

Addressing Frequent Arguments

There is the inevitable argument that "guns don't kill people, people kill people". This is true in the identical way that aircraft do not fly passengers, aviators do. Yes, planes can't fly themselves, but it would be virtually impossible for a captain to move 500 people internationally without the plane. The mass slaughter witnessed at Bondi would be all but impossible without guns, and would have been far less damaging if the alleged terrorists had not had access to the firearms they used.

Balancing Need and Security

There are valid reasons for some Australians to own firearms. Farm work or controlling vermin in rural areas is incredibly hard without them. A total ban of firearms from the country is impractical, as in some cases they are essential tools.

The achievable goal – what we must do – is to guarantee 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 the passage of years has taken a toll and the nation is less secure as it once was. It is vital to learn from the tragedy of Bondi to heart, and make certain that coming Australians are as protected as past generations have been.

A commentator remarked after the Bondi events, "things like this just don't happen here". They don't, but only because the country has collectively worked to keep itself safe. As nightmarish as the incident was, there is hope that it can serve as the last one the nation ever sees.