🔗 Share this article

Following the tragedy of the awful attack at Bondi, Australia is confronting several pressing conversations. There is a much-needed national spotlight on anti-Jewish sentiment, an persistent concern about national security, and inquiries about the way such an tragedy could happen. However, from the perspective of a public health expert and Jewish Australian, the most important dialogue we are finally having revolves around firearms.

A Decade of Cautions and a Proven Response

Public health experts have been sounding alarms about firearms for a minimum of a ten-year period. In the wake of the Port Arthur massacre, Australians united and implemented a suite of measures to curb gun violence nationwide. And it worked. Prior to 1996, the nation experienced approximately one large-scale firearm incident per year. In the decades since, there have been extremely rare significant tragedies, with none approaching the death toll of the incidents in the 1980s and 1990s.

This Recent Tragedy and the Function of Existing Regulations

Amidst the Bondi events, the nation's gun laws were partially effective. It has been suggested 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 chamber the subsequent shot. Although these guns can be fired quite quickly with lethal results, they remain far slower and less efficient than the large-magazine, semi-automatic rifles commonplace in overseas attacks. The number of deaths at Bondi could have been much greater if different firearms had been available.

Preventing a future Bondi requires national cohesion. Regrettably, we have already seen cracks in the united front.

A System Under Strain

Yet, the terrible consequences of the incident demonstrates that current gun laws are inadequate. Crafted in the late 1990s with the best of intentions, years have eroded their effectiveness. Alarmingly, there are currently a greater number of guns in Australia than prior to the Port Arthur shooting, with some citizens in urban areas reportedly holding collections of hundreds of weapons.

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

The Road Forward: Proposed Changes

In the time after the Bondi attack, there have been numerous announcements regarding new firearm legislation. The state of NSW specifically will shortly introduce a package of measures to reduce the collective risk posed by firearms. The federal government has proposed a fresh gun buyback, and there is hope for a national firearms registry, despite the inherent challenges of coordinating state and federal governments.

These measures are only possible if the nation acts in unison. As noted, when it comes to gun control, the country is dependent on its least stringent jurisdiction. This is the very nature of the Australian federation – regulations in one state are much less meaningful if they can be avoided with a short drive across a state line.

Countering Frequent Arguments

We hear the inevitable argument that "firearms are not the killers, people kill people". This is accurate in the identical way that planes don't transport people, pilots do. Yes, aircraft require operators, but it would be virtually impossible for a pilot to move 500 people overseas without the aircraft. The horrific violence witnessed at Bondi would be all but impossible without guns, and would have been significantly less lethal if the accused individuals had been denied access to the weapons they possessed.

Weighing Necessity and Security

It is acknowledged there are valid needs for some Australians to possess firearms. Managing livestock or controlling vermin in many places is extremely difficult without them. A complete removal of guns from the country is impractical, as in certain contexts they are indispensable.

The achievable goal – what we must do – is to guarantee that firearm legislation are modernized 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 critical to take the lessons of Bondi to heart, and make certain that coming Australians are as protected as past generations have been.

As one friend observed after the Bondi events, "such tragedies just don't happen here". This is true, but solely due to the fact that the country has collectively worked to maintain its security. As nightmarish as the incident was, there is hope that it can serve as the last one the nation experiences.