Australia Doubles Down on Gun Control After Hanukkah Massacre at Bondi Beach — Despite Already Having Some of the World’s Harshest Gun Laws

Australia’s far-left government is once again exploiting a horrific act of terrorism to push even more gun control despite the country already operating under some of the most restrictive firearms laws on the planet.

Following a brutal, targeted massacre at a Hanukkah celebration on Sydney’s Bondi Beach, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Monday vowed to “toughen” gun laws even further, promising new limits on firearm ownership and expanded licensing restrictions.

The attack, which authorities have now acknowledged was a deliberate antisemitic act of terrorism, left at least 15 people dead and dozens more wounded, including children and elderly victims.

“The government is prepared to take whatever action is necessary. Included in that is the need for tougher gun laws,” Albanese said after meeting with the National Cabinet, according to Fox News.

“Included in that is the need for tougher gun laws. If we need to toughen these up, if there’s anything we can do, I’m certainly up for it.”

More from CNN:

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced Monday after a meeting of the National Cabinet that state and territory leaders had agreed to pursue tougher controls.

The new rules would mean only Australian citizens can hold a gun license, and the number and type of guns they can own would be limited. Licenses would expire, under the plan, requiring more frequent checks on gun owners’ suitability to hold a license.

Work would also begin on tougher restrictions on the import of firearms and other weapons, including “3D printing, novel technology and firearms equipment that can hold large amounts of ammunition,” the government said in a statement.

Australia states and territories govern gun laws, but under the National Firearms Agreement agreed in 1996, all gun-owners are required to have a license and register their firearms in every jurisdiction.

[…]

Albanese said work on the national register would be carried out as quickly as possible, though he emphasized the challenge of pulling together sometimes antiquated systems.

“In some cases, some state jurisdictions still had paper identification. That was what we were dealing with,” he said. “We are responding in a really practical way. If there’s more that can be done, we will do it. We will do whatever is necessary.”

Once again, the political class is targeting licensed gun owners, the very people who already comply with some of the most restrictive firearm regulations on Earth, instead of confronting radicalization, border security failures, and ideological extremism.

The uncomfortable reality is this: the attackers did not follow gun laws, and no amount of additional paperwork, licensing reviews, or civilian disarmament would have stopped two terrorists intent on mass murder.

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