Australia's Firearm Laws: An International Model That Needs to Persist, Especially After Bondi

Following the tragedy of the horrific incident at Bondi, Australia is facing several pressing reckonings. There is a much-needed national focus on anti-Jewish sentiment, an persistent concern about national security, and questions about how such an tragedy could occur. But, as viewed of a public health expert and Jewish Australian, the most important dialogue we are now having revolves around firearms.

A Decade of Warnings and a Proven Response

Health specialists have been sounding alarms about firearms for at least a decade. In the wake of the Port Arthur tragedy, Australians came together and implemented a series of measures to reduce gun violence nationwide. And it worked. Prior to 1996, the nation witnessed approximately one large-scale firearm incident per year. Over the following years, there have been vanishingly few major events, with none reaching the fatalities of the shootings in the 1980s and 1990s.

This Recent Attack and the Role of Current Laws

Amidst the Bondi tragedy, the nation's firearm regulations were not entirely useless. It has been suggested the alleged attackers might have been armed with bolt-action rifles and at least one straight-pull shotgun. These weapons are limited to firing a single bullet at a time, necessitating a manual operation to ready the next round. While these guns can be fired rapidly with devastating effect, they remain far slower and more cumbersome than the large-magazine, semi-automatic rifles commonplace in overseas attacks. The number of deaths at Bondi would've been far higher if different weapons had been available.

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

A System Under Strain

However, the horrific consequences of the attack reveals that existing firearm regulations are failing. Designed in the late 1990s with the noblest aims, decades have eroded their efficacy. Alarmingly, there are now a greater number of guns in Australia than prior to the Port Arthur shooting, with some individuals in urban areas reportedly holding arsenals of hundreds of weapons.

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

The Road Ahead: Proposed Reforms

Since the Bondi attack, there have been multiple declarations regarding new firearm legislation. The state of NSW in particular will soon enact a suite of measures to reduce the collective risk posed by firearms. The national government has announced a fresh gun buyback, and there is hope for a countrywide gun database, despite the inherent challenges of coordinating state and federal governments.

All of this are only possible if the nation acts in unison. As stated, regarding gun control, the country is dependent on its weakest link. This is the very nature of the Australian federation – regulations in one state are much less meaningful if they can be avoided with a journey across a border.

Addressing Frequent Objections

There is the predictable response that "firearms are not the killers, individuals are". This is accurate in the same sense that planes don't transport people, aviators do. Certainly, planes can't fly themselves, but it would be virtually impossible for a captain to transport 500 people internationally 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 not had access to the firearms they possessed.

Balancing Necessity and Security

It is acknowledged there are legitimate needs for some Australians to own guns. Farm work or culling pests in many places is extremely difficult without them. A total ban of firearms from the country is not feasible, as in some cases they are indispensable.

The achievable goal – the imperative action – is to ensure that firearm legislation are modernized to better match the society we live in today. Australia's legislation have long been the admiration 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 take the lessons of Bondi seriously, and make certain that future generations are equally safe as previous generations have been.

A friend observed after the Bondi attack, "things like this just don't happen here". This is true, but only because the country has collectively worked to keep itself safe. However horrific as the attack was, there is hope that it can become the last one the nation ever sees.