🔗 Share this article

Following the tragedy of the horrific attack at Bondi, Australia is facing multiple pressing conversations. We are seeing a long-overdue national spotlight on anti-Jewish sentiment, an ongoing concern about public safety, and questions about how such an tragedy could occur. But, as viewed of a health professional and Australian Jew, the most important discussion we are now having revolves around firearms.

A Decade of Cautions and a Proven Solution

Public health experts have been sounding alarms about firearms for at least a decade. In the wake of the Port Arthur massacre, Australians came together and enacted a series of reforms to curb gun violence across the country. The strategy succeeded. Prior to 1996, the nation experienced approximately one mass shooting per year. Over the following years, there have been vanishingly few significant tragedies, with none reaching the death toll of the incidents in the 1980s and 1990s.

The Bondi Attack and the Function of Current Laws

Even during the Bondi events, the nation's firearm regulations were partially effective. Reports indicate the alleged attackers possessed with manually-operated long guns and a straight-pull shotgun. These weapons can only fire a one round at a time, necessitating a physical action to ready the next round. While these guns can be fired quite quickly with devastating effect, they remain significantly less rapid and less efficient than the large-magazine, self-loading rifles commonplace in overseas attacks. The number of deaths at Bondi would've been far higher if more advanced firearms had been accessible.

Stopping another Bondi requires unity across all states. And unfortunately, we have already seen cracks in the facade.

A System Showing Weakness

Yet, the horrific consequences of the attack demonstrates that existing gun laws are inadequate. Crafted in the late 1990s with the best of intentions, decades have worn away their effectiveness. Alarmingly, there are currently more firearms in Australia than prior to the Port Arthur massacre, with some citizens in cities reportedly holding collections numbering in the hundreds.

We have been complacent and it has cost us terribly.

The Road Forward: Proposed Reforms

In the time after the Bondi attack, there have been numerous declarations regarding strengthened gun laws. The state of NSW in particular will soon enact a package of measures to reduce the collective risk posed by firearms. The federal government has announced a new gun buyback, and there is potential for a national firearms registry, notwithstanding the inherent challenges of aligning state and federal jurisdictions.

These measures are feasible if the nation works together. As noted, regarding gun control, the country is only as strong as its least stringent jurisdiction. This is the very nature of the Australian federation – regulations in one state are easily circumvented if they can be bypassed with a short drive across a border.

Addressing Frequent 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 pilot to move 500 people overseas without the plane. The mass slaughter witnessed at Bondi would be extremely difficult without firearms, and would have been significantly less lethal if the accused individuals had not had access to the weapons they possessed.

Balancing Necessity and Security

There are legitimate needs for some Australians to own firearms. Managing livestock or controlling vermin in many places is extremely difficult without them. A total ban of firearms from the country is not feasible, as in certain contexts they are indispensable.

The achievable goal – what we must do – is to ensure that gun laws are updated to accurately reflect the society we live in today. Australia's laws have historically been the envy of the world, but the passage of years has done its work and the nation is no longer as safe as it previously was. It is vital to learn from the tragedy of Bondi to heart, and ensure that future generations are as protected as past generations have been.

As one commentator remarked after the Bondi attack, "such tragedies just don't happen here". They don't, but only because the country has made concerted efforts to keep itself safe. However horrific as the attack was, there is hope that it can serve as the last one the nation ever sees.