In the aftermath of the horrific attack at Bondi, Australia is confronting several critical conversations. There is a long-overdue national spotlight on antisemitism, an persistent worry about public safety, and questions about the way such an tragedy could happen. However, as viewed of a health professional and Jewish Australian, the most important discussion we are now having centers on firearms.
Ten Years of Cautions and a Proven Solution
Public health experts have been sounding alarms about guns for at least a ten-year period. In the wake of the Port Arthur tragedy, Australians united and enacted a suite of reforms to curb gun violence nationwide. The strategy succeeded. Before 1996, the nation experienced roughly one large-scale firearm incident per year. Over the following years, there have been extremely rare major events, with none reaching the fatalities of the incidents in the 1980s and 1990s.
This Recent Attack and the Function of Existing Regulations
Even during the Bondi events, the nation's firearm regulations were not entirely useless. Reports indicate the individuals involved might have been armed with bolt-action rifles and a straight-pull shotgun. These weapons can only fire a single bullet at a time, requiring a manual operation to chamber the next round. Although these guns can be fired rapidly with lethal results, they remain significantly less rapid and more cumbersome than the large-magazine, self-loading rifles frequently used in international attacks. The number of deaths at Bondi would've been far higher if more advanced firearms had been available.
Stopping another Bondi demands national cohesion. Regrettably, we have already seen cracks in the united front.
A System Under Strain
However, the horrific consequences of the attack demonstrates that current firearm regulations are inadequate. Crafted in the late 1990s with the best of intentions, decades have eroded their effectiveness. Concerningly, there are now more firearms in Australia than before the Port Arthur massacre, with some individuals in urban areas reportedly holding arsenals numbering in the hundreds.
We have been complacent and it has cost us terribly.
The Road Forward: Announced Changes
In the time after the Bondi tragedy, there have been numerous announcements regarding new firearm legislation. The state of NSW in particular will soon enact a suite of reforms to mitigate the public danger from firearms. The national government has announced a new firearm surrender scheme, and there is hope for a countrywide gun database, notwithstanding the inherent challenges of coordinating state and federal jurisdictions.
All of this are only possible provided that the nation acts in unison. As noted, regarding gun control, the country is only as strong as its least stringent jurisdiction. This is the reality of the Australian federation – laws in one state are much less meaningful if they can be bypassed with a short drive across a state line.
Addressing Frequent Arguments
We hear the predictable response that "firearms are not the killers, people kill people". This is true in the same sense that aircraft do not fly passengers, pilots 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 firearms, and would have been significantly less lethal if the alleged terrorists had been denied access to the weapons they possessed.
Balancing Need and Safety
It is acknowledged there are legitimate needs for some Australians to own guns. Farm work or controlling vermin in rural areas is incredibly hard without them. A complete removal of guns from the country is impractical, as in some cases they are indispensable.
What we can do – what we must do – is to guarantee that firearm legislation are updated to better match the world we live in today. Australia's laws have long been the admiration of the world, but time and distance has done its work and the nation is no longer as safe as it previously was. It is critical to learn from the tragedy of Bondi to heart, and ensure that coming Australians are equally safe as previous generations have been.
As one commentator observed 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 final tragedy the nation ever sees.
