How do you respond when terrorists brazenly attack peaceful civilians celebrating a somber religious observance? If you’re Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, it’s by ignoring the stark facts of the case and instead focusing on the inanimate tool used by violent criminals.
This playbook should sound familiar to American gun rights supporters.
One U.S. citizen, PGA golfing legend and three-time Masters champion Phil Mickelson, weighed in on the raging debate this week. The controversy follows the shooting on Bondi Beach targeting Hanukkah celebrants that killed 15 and left dozens injured.
Australia’s existing gun control regime utterly failed to prevent massacre
While cooler heads seek to prevent such shootings from recurring by targeting the sources, Australian officials stick their collective heads in the sand and merely push for yet more gun control.
Mickelson noted on X that the existing draconian system did nothing to prevent the tragedy.
An armed bystander could have saved lives at Bondi Beach
“The two terrorists didn’t seem affected by the strict gun laws already in place,” Mickelson wrote. “In fact, the shooting went on for a long time since there wasn’t anybody else with a gun to stop them. I’m not a big gun guy, but even I’m not this dumb to believe what this guy is selling. Prayers to the victims and their families.”
Mickelson referred to the Pacific nation’s ban on most semi-automatic rifles and shotguns enacted nearly three decades ago. Authorities carried out a nationwide buyback program that saw millions of weapons destroyed.
Meanwhile, a law-abiding citizen attempting to obtain a gun for self-defense must jump through a ridiculous set of hoops for the opportunity.
The shooters were identified as a father and son who had ISIS flags in their vehicle along with explosives. Police killed the father, while the son is hospitalized in critical condition at the last report.
Widely circulated video showed courageous citizens attempting to thwart the terrorist attack, but of course, they were unarmed. Meanwhile, the government’s response thus far is to set a limit on the number of firearms that can be owned and to review existing licenses.
None of which, of course, would have prevented the Bondi Beach tragedy.
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