🔗 Share this article

Following the tragedy of the awful attack at Bondi, Australia is facing several pressing reckonings. We are seeing a much-needed national spotlight on anti-Jewish sentiment, an persistent worry about public safety, and questions about the way such an event could occur. But, as viewed of a public health expert and Jewish Australian, the most important discussion we are now having revolves around firearms.

Ten Years of Cautions and a Proven Response

Health specialists have been issuing warnings about guns for at least a ten-year period. In the wake of the Port Arthur massacre, Australians came together and implemented a series of measures to reduce gun violence across the country. And it worked. Prior to 1996, the nation witnessed roughly one large-scale firearm incident per year. In the decades since, there have been vanishingly few significant tragedies, with none reaching the death toll of the shootings in the 1980s and 1990s.

The Bondi Attack and the Role of Current Regulations

Even during the Bondi tragedy, the nation's gun laws were partially effective. It has been suggested the alleged attackers might have been armed with manually-operated long guns and a straight-pull shotgun. These firearms can only fire a one round at a time, requiring a physical action to chamber the next round. Although these guns can be fired quite quickly with lethal results, they remain significantly less rapid and less efficient than the large-magazine, self-loading rifles frequently used in overseas mass shootings. The casualty count at Bondi could have been much greater if different firearms had been available.

Stopping another Bondi requires national cohesion. Regrettably, we have already seen fissures in the facade.

A System Showing Weakness

However, the terrible toll of the incident demonstrates that current gun laws are failing. Designed in the late 1990s with the noblest aims, decades have worn away their efficacy. Concerningly, there are currently more firearms in Australia than before the Port Arthur massacre, with some individuals in cities owning collections of hundreds of weapons.

We have been complacent and it has exacted a terrible price.

The Path Forward: Proposed Reforms

In the time after the Bondi attack, there have been numerous declarations regarding new firearm legislation. New South Wales in particular will soon introduce a package of reforms to reduce the public danger from firearms. The federal government has announced a fresh gun buyback, and there is potential for a countrywide gun database, notwithstanding the complexities of coordinating state and federal jurisdictions.

These measures are feasible if the nation acts in unison. As noted, regarding firearm laws, the country is dependent on its least stringent jurisdiction. This is the very nature of the Australian system – laws in one state are much less meaningful if they can be avoided with a journey across a state line.

Countering Common Arguments

We hear the inevitable response that "firearms are not the killers, people kill people". This is accurate 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 captain to transport 500 people internationally without the aircraft. The horrific violence seen at Bondi would be extremely difficult without firearms, and would have been significantly less lethal if the alleged terrorists had not had access to the weapons they used.

Weighing Necessity and Safety

It is acknowledged there are valid reasons for some Australians to possess firearms. Managing livestock or culling pests in rural areas is extremely difficult without them. A total ban of guns from the country is impractical, as in certain contexts they are essential tools.

The achievable goal – what we must do – is to ensure that firearm legislation are updated to better match the world we live in today. Australia's laws have historically 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 take the lessons of Bondi seriously, and make certain that coming Australians are as protected as previous generations have been.

As one friend observed after the Bondi attack, "things like this just don't happen here". This is true, but only because the country has made concerted efforts to maintain its security. However horrific as the incident was, there is hope that it can serve as the last one the nation ever sees.