Australia's Firearm Laws: An International Example That Must Persist, Particularly After Bondi

Following the tragedy of the horrific attack at Bondi, Australia is confronting multiple pressing conversations. We are seeing a much-needed national spotlight on anti-Jewish sentiment, an persistent worry about national security, and inquiries about how such an tragedy could happen. However, as viewed of a health professional and Australian Jew, the most important discussion we are finally having revolves around firearms.

Ten Years of Cautions and a Proven Response

Public health experts have been sounding alarms about guns for a minimum of a ten-year period. Following the events of the Port Arthur tragedy, Australians united and implemented a suite of measures to curb gun violence nationwide. The strategy succeeded. Before 1996, the nation experienced approximately one mass shooting per year. Over the following years, there have been vanishingly few major events, with none reaching the fatalities of the incidents in the 1980s and 1990s.

The Bondi Attack and the Role of Existing Laws

Even during the Bondi events, the nation's gun laws were partially effective. It has been suggested the individuals involved possessed with bolt-action rifles and a straight-pull shotgun. These weapons can only fire a single bullet at a time, requiring a physical action to chamber the subsequent shot. Although these guns can be fired quite quickly with devastating effect, they remain far slower and less efficient than the large-magazine, self-loading rifles frequently used in overseas attacks. The number of deaths at Bondi would've been far higher if different weapons had been accessible.

Stopping another Bondi demands national cohesion. And unfortunately, we have already seen cracks in the facade.

A System Showing Weakness

Yet, the terrible toll of the attack demonstrates that current gun laws are failing. Designed in the late 1990s with the best of intentions, decades have worn away their efficacy. Concerningly, there are now a greater number of guns in Australia than before the Port Arthur shooting, with some individuals in urban areas reportedly holding collections numbering in the hundreds.

We have been overconfident and it has cost us terribly.

The Road Forward: Announced Reforms

In the time after the Bondi tragedy, there have been multiple announcements regarding new firearm legislation. The state of NSW in particular will soon introduce a package of reforms to mitigate the collective risk posed by firearms. The federal government has proposed a fresh firearm surrender scheme, and there is potential for a national firearms registry, despite the complexities of aligning state and federal jurisdictions.

All of this are only possible if the nation acts in unison. As noted, regarding firearm laws, the country is only as strong as its least stringent jurisdiction. This is the reality of the Australian system – laws in one state are much less meaningful if they can be avoided with a short drive across a border.

Countering Frequent Objections

We hear the inevitable argument that "guns don't kill people, people kill people". This is true in the same sense that aircraft do not fly passengers, aviators do. Certainly, planes can't fly themselves, but it would be quite challenging for a pilot to move 500 people overseas without the aircraft. The horrific violence seen at Bondi would be extremely difficult without guns, and would have been significantly less lethal if the accused individuals had been denied access to the firearms they possessed.

Balancing Need and Security

There are legitimate reasons for some Australians to own firearms. Farm work or controlling vermin in many places is incredibly hard without them. A complete removal of guns from the country is impractical, as in some cases they are indispensable.

The achievable goal – the imperative action – is to guarantee that gun laws are updated to accurately reflect the society we live in today. Australia's laws have long been the envy 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 seriously, and make certain that future generations are equally safe as past generations have been.

A friend observed after the Bondi attack, "such tragedies just don't happen here". This is true, but only because the country has collectively worked to keep itself safe. As nightmarish as the attack was, there is an aspiration that it can serve as the final tragedy the nation experiences.