Following the tragedy of the awful incident at Bondi, Australia is confronting several critical reckonings. There is a long-overdue national spotlight on anti-Jewish sentiment, an ongoing worry about public safety, and inquiries about the way such an event could happen. However, as viewed of a public health expert and Australian Jew, the paramount discussion we are finally having centers on firearms.
Health experts have been sounding alarms about firearms for at least a ten-year period. In the wake of the Port Arthur massacre, Australians came together and implemented a suite of measures to reduce gun violence across the country. The strategy succeeded. Before 1996, the nation experienced roughly one mass shooting per year. Over the following years, there have been vanishingly few major events, with none reaching the death toll of the shootings in the 1980s and 1990s.
Even during the Bondi tragedy, the nation's gun laws were partially effective. Reports indicate the alleged attackers possessed with manually-operated long guns and a straight-pull shotgun. These firearms can only fire a one round at a time, requiring a manual operation to ready the subsequent shot. While these guns are capable of being discharged rapidly with devastating effect, they remain significantly less rapid and more cumbersome than the large-magazine, self-loading rifles frequently used in overseas attacks. The number of deaths at Bondi would've been far higher if different firearms had been available.
Preventing another Bondi demands unity across all states. And unfortunately, there are already fissures in the facade.
However, the horrific consequences of the incident reveals that existing gun laws are failing. Crafted in the late 1990s with the noblest aims, decades have eroded their efficacy. Alarmingly, there are now more firearms in Australia than prior to the Port Arthur massacre, with some citizens in cities reportedly holding arsenals numbering in the hundreds.
We have been complacent and it has cost us terribly.
In the time after the Bondi tragedy, there have been multiple declarations regarding new gun laws. The state of NSW in particular will shortly enact a package of measures to mitigate the public danger from firearms. The national government has proposed a fresh gun buyback, and there is potential for a countrywide gun database, notwithstanding the complexities of coordinating 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 dependent on its least stringent jurisdiction. This is the very nature of the Australian system – regulations in one state are easily circumvented if they can be avoided with a short drive across a state line.
There is the inevitable argument that "guns don't kill people, individuals are". This is accurate 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 aircraft. The mass slaughter witnessed at Bondi would be extremely difficult without firearms, and would have been significantly less lethal if the accused individuals had not had access to the weapons they possessed.
There are valid needs for some Australians to own guns. Farm work or culling pests in many places 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 ensure that firearm legislation are updated to accurately reflect the society we live in today. Australia's legislation have long been the admiration of the world, but time and distance has taken a toll and the nation is no longer as safe as it once was. It is vital to learn from the tragedy of Bondi seriously, and make certain that coming Australians are equally safe as past generations have been.
A commentator remarked after the Bondi events, "such tragedies just don't happen here". They don't, but only because the country has made concerted efforts to maintain its security. As nightmarish as the incident was, there is hope that it can serve as the final tragedy the nation ever sees.
