Australia's Firearm Legislation: A Global Example That Needs to Persist, Especially After Bondi

In the aftermath of the horrific attack at Bondi, Australia is facing multiple critical reckonings. We are seeing a much-needed national focus on antisemitism, an ongoing concern about public safety, and questions about how such an event could occur. But, as viewed of a health professional and Australian Jew, the paramount dialogue we are now having centers on firearms.

Ten Years of Warnings and a Successful Solution

Public health experts have been issuing warnings about firearms for a minimum of a ten-year period. In the wake of the Port Arthur tragedy, Australians came together and implemented a series of reforms to curb gun violence nationwide. The strategy succeeded. Before 1996, the nation experienced approximately one large-scale firearm incident per year. Over the following years, there have been vanishingly few significant tragedies, with none approaching the fatalities of the shootings in the 1980s and 1990s.

This Recent Tragedy and the Role of Current Regulations

Even during the Bondi events, the nation's gun laws were not entirely useless. It has been suggested the individuals involved might have been armed with bolt-action rifles and a straight-pull shotgun. These firearms are limited to firing a one round at a time, requiring a manual operation to ready the subsequent shot. Although these guns are capable of being discharged rapidly with lethal results, they remain far slower and less efficient than the high-capacity, semi-automatic rifles commonplace in international attacks. The number of deaths at Bondi would've been far higher if more advanced weapons had been available.

Stopping a future Bondi requires unity across all states. And unfortunately, we have already seen fissures in the facade.

Legislation Showing Weakness

However, the horrific consequences of the attack demonstrates that existing firearm regulations are failing. Designed in the late 1990s with the noblest aims, decades have eroded their efficacy. Concerningly, there are now a greater number of guns in Australia than prior to the Port Arthur massacre, with some individuals in cities owning collections numbering in the hundreds.

We have been overconfident and it has cost us terribly.

The Road Ahead: Announced Reforms

Since the Bondi tragedy, there have been multiple declarations regarding strengthened firearm legislation. The state of NSW specifically will shortly enact a package of reforms to mitigate the collective risk from firearms. The federal government has proposed a new gun buyback, and there is hope for a national firearms registry, notwithstanding the complexities of aligning state and federal jurisdictions.

These measures are only possible provided that the nation acts in unison. As stated, regarding firearm laws, the country is dependent on its least stringent jurisdiction. This is the reality of the Australian federation – laws in one state are easily circumvented if they can be avoided with a short drive across a border.

Addressing Common Arguments

We hear the inevitable response that "firearms are not the killers, individuals are". This is true in the same sense that planes don't transport people, aviators do. Yes, aircraft require operators, but it would be virtually impossible for a captain to transport 500 people internationally without the plane. The mass slaughter witnessed at Bondi would be all but impossible without firearms, and would have been far less damaging if the alleged terrorists had been denied access to the weapons they used.

Balancing Need and Safety

There are legitimate needs for some Australians to possess firearms. Managing livestock or culling pests in rural areas is extremely difficult without them. A complete removal of firearms from the country is impractical, as in some cases they are essential tools.

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 laws have long been the admiration of the world, but the passage of years has taken a toll and the nation is less secure as it once was. It is vital to learn from the tragedy of Bondi to heart, and ensure that future generations are equally safe as previous generations have been.

A commentator remarked after the Bondi events, "such tragedies just don't happen here". They don't, but solely due to the fact that the country has made concerted efforts to keep itself safe. However horrific as the attack was, there is hope that it can become the final tragedy the nation experiences.