Australia's Gun Laws: A Global Model That Needs to Persist, Particularly After Bondi

In the aftermath of the horrific attack at Bondi, Australia is confronting several pressing reckonings. There is a much-needed national spotlight on anti-Jewish sentiment, an persistent worry about national security, and questions about the way such an event could occur. But, as viewed of a health professional and Jewish Australian, the most important dialogue we are now having centers on firearms.

A Decade of Cautions and a Successful Solution

Health experts have been sounding alarms about firearms for a minimum of a ten-year period. Following the events of the Port Arthur massacre, Australians united and enacted a suite of reforms to curb gun violence nationwide. And it worked. Before 1996, the nation experienced approximately one large-scale firearm incident per year. In the decades since, there have been extremely rare major events, with none approaching the fatalities of the shootings in the 1980s and 1990s.

This Recent Attack and the Role of Current Laws

Even during the Bondi tragedy, the nation's firearm regulations were not entirely useless. It has been suggested the individuals involved possessed with manually-operated long guns and a straight-pull shotgun. These firearms are limited to firing a single bullet at a time, requiring a physical action to ready the next round. Although these guns can be fired rapidly with devastating effect, they remain far slower and less efficient than the large-magazine, self-loading rifles commonplace in overseas attacks. The casualty count at Bondi would've been far higher if more advanced firearms had been available.

Stopping a future Bondi demands unity across all states. Regrettably, there are already cracks in the united front.

A System Under Strain

However, the terrible consequences of the incident demonstrates that existing gun laws are failing. Crafted in the late 1990s with the noblest aims, decades have worn away their effectiveness. Alarmingly, there are now a greater number of guns in Australia than before the Port Arthur shooting, with some individuals in cities owning arsenals of hundreds of weapons.

The nation has grown complacent and it has cost us terribly.

The Path Forward: Announced Changes

Since the Bondi tragedy, there have been numerous declarations regarding new gun laws. The state of NSW specifically will soon enact a package of measures to reduce the public danger from firearms. The national government has announced a fresh gun buyback, and there is hope for a national firearms registry, despite the complexities of aligning state and federal governments.

These measures are only possible provided that 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 very nature of the Australian system – regulations in one state are easily circumvented if they can be bypassed with a short drive across a state line.

Addressing Frequent Arguments

There is the inevitable response that "firearms are not the killers, individuals are". This is true in the same sense that aircraft do not fly passengers, aviators do. Yes, planes can't fly themselves, but it would be quite challenging for a captain to transport 500 people overseas without the plane. The horrific violence witnessed 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 weapons they used.

Balancing Necessity and Safety

It is acknowledged there are legitimate needs for some Australians to own guns. Managing livestock or controlling vermin in many places is extremely difficult without them. A total ban of guns from the country is not feasible, as in some cases they are essential tools.

What we can do – the imperative action – is to guarantee that gun laws are modernized to better match the world we live in today. Australia's legislation have historically been the envy of the world, but time and distance has taken a toll and the nation is less secure as it previously was. It is vital to take the lessons of Bondi to heart, and ensure that coming Australians are as protected as past generations have been.

A friend remarked after the Bondi events, "such tragedies just don't happen here". This is true, but only because the country has made concerted efforts to keep itself safe. As nightmarish as the attack was, there is hope that it can become the last one the nation ever sees.