'13 years ago, America ignored a wake-up call about guns. We cannot make the same mistake.'

As an American who has been living in Australia for the last 13 years, the topic I am asked about more than anything else is guns. Australians ask me if it's scary in America, if I worry about gun violence when I'm there, if I know anyone who owns guns or has been impacted by gun violence. The answer to all of those questions is yes. 

Conversely, when I'm visiting friends and family in the States and the topic of guns is raised, I have always been eager to tell them about how Australia had also had a problem with gun violence, and how, in the aftermath of the horrific Port Arthur massacre in 1996 which left 35 people dead, Australia implemented sweeping gun reform and enacted laws which have made mass shootings in Australia exceedingly rare. 

Until this week. 

The 14th December massacre of 15 innocent lives who had gathered to celebrate the first night of Chanukah at Sydney's Bondi Beach is the worst act of gun violence since the Port Arthur massacre. In a grim twist of fate, the 14th of December also marks 13 years since the Sandy Hook massacre, where 26 people, including 20 children, were brutally murdered in their elementary school. 

I remember that day vividly. I had just arrived in Australia days before, and as the nightmare of the unspeakable horror unfolded, there was one thing Australians kept saying to me: Surely this will change things. Surely this is the wake-up call. Surely this will be America's Port Arthur, the event that even the most ardent gun supporters will be fundamentally changed by. 

It wasn't. 

Instead, the National Rifle Association and all of the other voices which make up the American gun lobby only grew louder, repeating their go-to refrain that the only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun. 

We've seen this sentiment reiterated by pro-gun Americans responding to the Bondi murders, using the shooting as an opportunity to critique Australia's strict gun laws. Americans are used to these mental acrobatics. Perhaps even more enraging than the "good guy vs bad guy" slogan is the tendency for American politicians to deride calls for gun reform in the aftermath of gun violence as inappropriate or ill-timed. 

The vast majority of Australians are not convinced by this bad-faith rhetoric. We have all just seen that in the case of the Bondi massacre, it was not a good guy with a gun, but rather a good guy in white T-shirt, 43-year-old tobacco-shop owner, Ahmed al Ahmed, whose heroism disarmed one of the shooters, saving countless lives. 

Bondi Beach after the 14th December terror attack. Image: Getty.

But there are those Australians who would have us change our gun laws, who would have us import a more American approach to gun access and ownership.

Today, there are more guns in Australia than there were before the Port Arthur massacre, with some estimates reporting that at least 2,000 guns enter Australia legally every week.

Bondi shooter, Naveed Akram, legally owned six guns and was a member of a gun club, a troubling fact that points to the ways that gun enthusiasts can work within the legal system to procure and own weapons.

Many people, myself included, have been shocked to learn that with the single exception of Western Australia, there is no limit to the amount of guns a licensed owner can possess. 

On the same day that we watched in horror as the Bondi massacre unfolded, students at the Ivy League Brown University were on lockdown while an active shooter — who as of this writing remains at large — killed two students and injured nine others. Two of the survivors of the Brown University shooting had already survived a previous school shooting. 

I feel the need to write that sentence again: Two of the survivors of the Brown University shooting had already survived a previous school shooting.

This is a uniquely American phenomenon. It is only possible in a country that has seen 467 mass shootings in this year alone. Let that sink in.

Australia, on the other hand, has had 20 such incidents, including this week's horrors, in the entire 21st century. There can be no doubt that Australia's gun laws are the reason why Australians have not lived the gun nightmare that Americans do every day. 

Gun laws will not change in America after Brown University, just like they didn't change after Sandy Hook, or Uvalde, or Columbine, or Parkland, or any of the other shootings which we know by name. Call me cynical, but I don't think we will ever see substantial gun reform in America. 

But I have hope that Australia will not allow the 15 innocent souls we lost this week to be in vain. 

In the immediate aftermath of the Bondi massacre, NSW Premier Chris Minns has vowed to introduce new legislation that will crack down on gun ownership and licensing in NSW. 

Chris Minns speaking in a press conference after the Bondi Beach attack. Image: ABC.

I hope that Australians will be as passionate in their support for new protections as they were after Port Arthur, and resist the voices, foreign and domestic, that will try to convince them that gun ownership is more important than the sanctity of life.

Beyond legislation, the Bondi massacre is a stark reminder that behind every statistic are human lives, families shattered, futures stolen and communities left to grapple with grief.

It is a call to action not just for lawmakers, but for every citizen, to demand accountability, to question the systems that allow tragedy to repeat, and to insist that safety and compassion take precedence over convenience and complacency.

In contrast to the United States, where mass shootings have become tragically routine, Australia still has the chance to prevent such horrors through vigilance, courage, and empathy. Remembering the victims of Bondi must mean protecting the living, and proving that a nation can choose life over firearms.

How to help following the Bondi Beach shooting.

In the aftermath of the Bondi Beach shooting, many people are searching for meaningful ways to help during the incredibly distressing time. If you're able:

You can support victims and their families by donating to verified GoFundMe fundraisers established in response to the attack here.

By giving blood at your nearest Australian Red Cross Lifeblood centre, to help those receiving medical care. Find your nearest donation centre here.

You can also pay your respects and share messages of support via the NSW Government's Online Condolence Book, which offers comfort and solidarity to those affected. You can sign the book here.

Feature image: Supplied.