Australia's Gun Laws: A Global Example That Needs to Endure, Particularly After Bondi

In the aftermath of the horrific incident at Bondi, Australia is facing several pressing conversations. There is a long-overdue national spotlight on antisemitism, an persistent concern about public safety, and questions about how such an event could occur. However, from the perspective of a public health expert and Australian Jew, the most important discussion we are finally having revolves around firearms.

A Decade of Cautions and a Successful Response

Health experts have been sounding alarms about guns for at least a ten-year period. Following the events of the Port Arthur massacre, Australians came together and enacted a series of reforms to curb gun violence nationwide. The strategy succeeded. Before 1996, the nation experienced approximately one mass shooting per year. In the decades since, there have been extremely rare significant tragedies, with none approaching the death toll of the shootings in the 1980s and 1990s.

This Recent Tragedy and the Function of Existing Regulations

Even during the Bondi tragedy, the nation's gun laws were not entirely useless. Reports indicate the individuals involved might have been armed with bolt-action rifles and at least one straight-pull shotgun. These weapons can only fire a single bullet at a time, necessitating a manual operation to chamber the next round. Although these guns are capable of being discharged 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 more advanced firearms had been available.

Preventing another Bondi requires unity across all states. Regrettably, we have already seen fissures in the facade.

Legislation Showing Weakness

Yet, the horrific toll of the attack reveals that existing gun laws are inadequate. Crafted in the late 1990s with the best of intentions, years have worn away their efficacy. Alarmingly, there are now more firearms in Australia than prior to the Port Arthur massacre, with some individuals in urban areas owning arsenals numbering in the hundreds.

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

The Path Ahead: Announced Reforms

In the time after the Bondi tragedy, there have been multiple declarations regarding strengthened gun laws. New South Wales specifically will soon introduce a suite of reforms to reduce the public danger posed by firearms. The national government has announced a new gun buyback, and there is hope for a national firearms registry, despite the inherent challenges of aligning state and federal governments.

All of this are feasible if the nation acts in unison. As noted, when it comes to firearm laws, the country is only as strong as its weakest link. This is the reality of the Australian federation – laws in one state are easily circumvented if they can be avoided with a journey across a border.

Countering Common Objections

There is the inevitable response that "guns don't kill people, individuals are". This is accurate in the identical way that aircraft do not fly passengers, aviators do. Certainly, aircraft require operators, but it would be quite challenging for a captain to transport 500 people overseas without the aircraft. The horrific violence witnessed at Bondi would be all but impossible without guns, and would have been far less damaging if the accused individuals had not had access to the firearms they possessed.

Weighing Need and Security

It is acknowledged there are valid needs 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 essential tools.

What we can do – what we must do – is to guarantee that gun laws 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 done its work and the nation is less secure as it previously was. It is vital to take the lessons of Bondi to heart, and make certain that coming Australians are as protected as previous generations have been.

A friend observed after the Bondi events, "things like this just don't happen here". This is true, but only because the country has collectively worked to maintain its security. As nightmarish as the attack was, there is hope that it can serve as the final tragedy the nation experiences.