🔗 Share this article

In the aftermath of the awful incident at Bondi, Australia is confronting multiple pressing reckonings. There is a much-needed national spotlight on antisemitism, an ongoing worry about public safety, and inquiries about how such an tragedy could occur. But, from the perspective of a health professional and Australian Jew, the most important dialogue we are finally having centers on firearms.

A Decade of Warnings and a Successful Solution

Public health specialists have been sounding alarms about guns for a minimum of a decade. Following the events of the Port Arthur massacre, Australians united and enacted a suite of measures to curb gun violence across the country. And it worked. Prior to 1996, the nation witnessed roughly one large-scale firearm incident per year. Over the following years, there have been vanishingly few major events, with none approaching the fatalities of the incidents in the 1980s and 1990s.

The Bondi Tragedy and the Function of Current Regulations

Amidst the Bondi events, the nation's firearm regulations were partially effective. It has been suggested the individuals involved possessed with manually-operated long guns and at least one straight-pull shotgun. These weapons are limited to firing a one round at a time, necessitating a physical action to ready the subsequent shot. Although these guns are capable of being discharged quite quickly with lethal results, they remain far slower and less efficient than the large-magazine, semi-automatic rifles frequently used in overseas attacks. The casualty count at Bondi could have been much greater if different firearms had been available.

Stopping a future Bondi demands national cohesion. And unfortunately, there are already fissures in the facade.

Legislation Under Strain

However, the terrible toll of the incident reveals that current gun laws are failing. Crafted in the late 1990s with the noblest aims, decades have eroded their efficacy. Alarmingly, there are currently a greater number of guns 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 overconfident and it has exacted a terrible price.

The Path Ahead: Announced Changes

In the time after the Bondi attack, there have been numerous announcements regarding strengthened firearm legislation. The state of NSW specifically will soon introduce a suite of reforms to reduce 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 jurisdictions.

These measures are only possible provided that 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 – regulations in one state are much less meaningful if they can be avoided with a short drive across a state line.

Addressing Common Arguments

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

Balancing Need and Security

There are legitimate needs for some Australians to own guns. Managing livestock or culling pests in rural areas is extremely difficult without them. A complete removal of firearms from the country is not feasible, as in certain contexts they are essential tools.

What we can do – what we must do – is to guarantee that firearm legislation are updated to accurately reflect the society we live in today. Australia's legislation have long been the admiration of the world, but time and distance has done its work and the nation is less secure as it previously was. It is vital to take the lessons of Bondi seriously, and ensure that future generations are as protected as previous generations have been.

A friend observed after the Bondi attack, "such tragedies just don't happen here". They don't, but only because the country has made concerted efforts to maintain its security. As nightmarish as the attack was, there is an aspiration that it can serve as the final tragedy the nation experiences.