There was a glut of high profile violence that took place over the second weekend of December, and it wasn’t restricted to one state or country. The most egregious event didn’t take place here in the States. That was the Bondi Beach murder spree in Australia, something that will no doubt disappoint many in the gun control industry.
By last count 16 were murdered and more than 40 hospitalized. I’ve given this one the usual 72-hour pause to see what has come out, but that still doesn’t mean all the reported details are public or accurate. For that reason, we’re going to touch on the first rule of gunfights, which is: have a gun.
Gun Control vs. Gun Rights
First, let’s address the so-called elephant in the room. Australia’s extreme level of gun control is something most of us are familiar with. The National Firearms Agreement that Aussies are subject to was enacted back in the 1990s after a mass murderer shot and killed 35 people.
In response, the government did a mandatory “buyback” and ended up destroying around three-quarters of a million firearms (there’s no reliable number for that, so all we can do is ballpark it from various sources). Then they banned all auto or semi-auto firearms and made people prove they needed a gun for a darn good reason. And no, self-defense didn’t qualify as a good reason.
If they were granted ownership, the gun was registered and there were major constraints on its storage and use. Why am I using the past tense? Well…
It appears the current restrictions are about to be made even more restrictier (that’s totally a word). Only citizens will be allowed to obtain a gun license, assuming their reason for having one is considered good enough, and those qualifying reasons will be further limited.
Quantity and type of firearm will also be controlled more tightly, and it’s anyone’s guess what that will mean considering the current laws. Muskets? Capacity and scary features will also be further targeted.
South Wales Premier Chris Minns is on board with the changes:
We want to make sure that prospective reform and change in New South Wales has a lasting impact. If you’re not a farmer, if you’re not involved in agriculture, why do you need these massive weapons that put the public in danger and make life dangerous and difficult for New South Wales police?
The Aussie News Media, Though…
Within minutes of the mass murder hitting the newswire, people were posting about it on social media. There was a specific claim being thrown around, too, that Australia’s gun control clearly works because they’ve only had this one mass shooting in the past 30 years.
Most commenters making that claim backed it up by saying America’s already had more than 1000 mass shootings this year and at least 10,000 in 30 years.
There’s a lot here, but let’s take on the media first. Here in America (‘Murica!) our media pretty much runs wild. It’s protected by the First Amendment with some other amendments and case law throwing some weight into protections as well.
You might hate our mainstream media, but it’s better to have observable, unfettered media bias and opinions than to have one that’s controlled entirely by the government.
Australia’s media operates under ever-increasing restrictions that have actively tightened over the last few decades (which just happens to line up with their gun rights rollback). There’s more than I can get into here, so suffice it to say there’s no freedom of the press down under.
The Australian government likes to claim there’s nothing but happy times, sunshine, and freedom in the land of Oz, but that’s a lie.
Journalists can expect to have their homes and places of business raided and a range of penalties imposed if they upset the government. Feel free to get snarky in the comments, Aussies, but the American press has freedoms yours can only dream of.
In fact, Reporters Without Borders states:
Press freedom is not constitutionally guaranteed in this island-continent of 26 million people, but a hyperconcentration of the media combined with occasional pressure from the authorities on media professionals endanger public interest journalism.
Australia also has a lousy score for press accuracy and freedom everywhere that judges these things, except, of course, on Australian government sites.
One more thing: Australians can’t see everything you can see online. Restrictions mean some things are censored, including content that’s considered violent, that originated from a non-government-approved source, or if it’s coming from a digital source that hasn’t paid properly for the right to show news to Australians. This is a highly boiled-down summary, but you get the idea.
As for social media, plenty of Aussies in groups I’m in regularly ask people what various news stories say or show because they can’t see them on their own due to those government restrictions.
It’s a thing. Where was I going with this? Oh yeah, no one actually knows what violent crimes might have occurred in Australia in the last 30 years thanks to the way their media, like their guns, are restricted.
As for what everyone thinks the gun violence rate is in America, that’s wild. No, there haven’t been 1000 mass shootings in 2025. The groups that put out that type of over-hyped, cooked information twist reality to fit their own narrative.
Is there a higher level of firearms-related violence in America than in Australia? Yes, but it would take forever for me to spell out details.
Read this post from Kostas Moros comparing the US and Australia if you want a clearer look at reality. Then circle back to asking Aussies, “Man, do you even know what’s happening in your own backyard? No. No you do not.”
The Hero of the Day
You’ve probably seen footage of the weekend’s Bondi Beach murders. The terrorist attack was (allegedly) carried out by a father-and-son duo, the elder of whom is now dead. The son’s rampage ended when an incredibly badass man named Ahmed Al-Ahmed decided to stop it.
Reports from Al-Ahmed’s cousin/brother (news reports are conflicting), who was with him at the time, state that the two men were walking by the Bondi Beach Hanukkah celebration when they were offered food.
Yes, this seems important—the Jewish families rejoicing in Hanukkah offered food to two passing men of Middle Eastern descent…and it became life-saving.
The men stopped. The killers then came on the scene and opened fire. Al-Ahmed and his cousin/brother hunkered down by a car and, according to the cousin/brother, Al-Ahmed turned to him and said, “I’m going to die – please see my family [and tell them] that I went down to save people’s lives.” Then he charged.
Al-Ahmed wrestled a shotgun away from the younger of the two killers and unsurprisingly, the murderer immediately backed away. During the scuffle, Al-Ahmed was shot in the arm and hand. He’s currently hospitalized, and there’s no doubt he saved lives.
There were other instances of bravery. One man ran up to the bridge where the father was shooting and kicked his gun away before he, himself, was shot by police. He survived and it’s been difficult finding the man’s name in the media despite video footage.
A sadder example of astounding courage was carried out by Boris and Sofia Gurman, an older couple whom made what was probably the earliest charge at one of the terrorists.
The moment was captured on the dash cam of a nearby car, and the car’s owner spoke to Reuters:
An elderly man by the roadside did not run away — instead, he charged straight toward the danger, using all his strength trying to wrestle away the gun and fighting to the death. I can see from my camera that the elderly man was ultimately shot and collapsed. That moment broke my heart.
Sofia Gurman was seen rushing around the side of another vehicle to help her husband, who initially disarmed the killer. Both Gurmans were murdered, but not before putting up a fight.
Then there’s Reuven Morrison, 62, who was also murdered trying to stop the carnage. Morrison’s daughter, Sheina Gutnick, told CBS News what happened (this was also captured by multiple cameras):
He had jumped the second the shooting started. He managed to throw bricks. He was screaming at the terrorist and protecting his community. If there is one way for him to go on this earth it would be fighting a terrorist.
Morrison’s daughter elaborated to A Current Affair:
“I got a message from a friend of mine that she was hiding her baby underneath her, and she saw my dad facing off the terrorists, saving precious moments.”
Footage from another moment shows Mr Morrison standing tall as bullets fly past and pointing his finger at shooter Sajid Akram, creating a distraction that allowed others time to run.
“Everyone was down on the ground and him up there running straight towards the danger, running straight towards that terrorist, facing him, straight down in the face, eye to eye,” Ms Gutnick said, “That was my dad. That was him.”
Ahmed Al-Ahmed. Boris and Sofia Gurman. Reuven Morrison. You’re never forgotten as long as your name is said, and we’ll say their names, living and dead. It’s their heroism that should be remembered, not the murderous acts of a couple of terrorists.
The Police Will Save You…Or Not
Watching the Australian law enforcement response to the Bondi Beach murders was…disturbing. A lot of Aussie cops appear to subscribe to the Uvalde model of incident response.
There are photos of cops simply hiding behind vehicles waiting for the shooting to stop. There’s also at least one image of a police officer raising her hands in what viewers believed to be apparent surrender. (Regarding the controversy over the hands-in-air images, it’s very possible that was taken out of context. See below.)
Most Australian police carry firearms. This is a semi-recent change due to the increase in armed criminals, something you just don’t see mentioned much in the media much.
It took decades for the various states to start issuing firearms to law enforcement, and it wasn’t until well into the 2000s that most Australian police are armed with some sort of firearm. Can they/do they use them? That’s a topic for a different story.
Police aren’t generally crime-stoppers. They’re clean-up. Unless you’re carrying one with you in your pocket, there’s not likely to be a police officer there to save you if and when the time comes. But don’t worry, they’ll be there later to put up crime scene tape and outline your body.
After watching more footage from Bondi Beach than I ever thought possible from a mass shooting, I came to an easy conclusion: the Australian police are scared.
They’re likely quite poorly trained in dealing with actual violence, but even so, it is sad to see the level of fear displayed by armed officers.
If you’re Australian and you’re reading this, just be aware that your police are woefully ill-prepared to help you. But have no fear. There’s a solution.
Get a gun
The first rule of a gunfight is to have a gun. Australians tend to disagree with this, although of course, there are some pro-gun people among them.
Thanks to their government, getting a gun isn’t easy for them. This is a sticky topic for myriad reasons. If you came for the op-ed part where I run my mouth, you’re in luck. Here we go.
Not only can Australians not simply draw a firearm to stop a mass murder, they can’t fight back against an increasingly tyrannical government (fight me…that’s what it is).
Australia had (has) some of the tightest, wildest COVID restrictions in the world. Only China had them beat. Lockdowns there were severe and kept most citizens from leaving home at all.
Many areas enacted travel limits of 5 kilometers (that’s 3.1 miles, guys), curfews, and border closings (as in, individual states and territories within the country closing borders). Police ran around arresting people. In 2025, mask wearing is no longer mandatory, except when it is (like if you’re on an airplane).
Full disclosure, I live in North Texas. I might not like all of the politics of the state, but this is the best place to live in America.
It isn’t just about guns, hunting, and brisket, either. Living in this part of Texas meant those pandemic restrictions were hit-or-miss at most. The pandemic was the perfect test to see how much control various governments could exert on citizens. In Australia, it was incredible in the most negative way possible.
The reality is, having a gun is the only way you’re going to effectively protect yourself from an imminent threat. It’s the only way you’re going to fight back when tyranny goes door-to-door. And it’s the only way you’ll feed your family if the grocery stores stop supplying food.
The Bondi Beach murders could have been halted much sooner if just one bystander had a gun. People were videotaping from windows and doors, from behind trees—absolutely close enough to stop the shooting.
The murderers didn’t even bother to take up protected positions. They paraded in the open as fired, mowing down innocent people, all while police cowered and unarmed citizens died charging them to try to and trying to stop the bloodshed.
But Kat, you say, America has way more gun violence than Australia! Clearly Australia’s gun control works!
Two problems with that. One is the government control and influence over the Australian media, meaning everything doesn’t get reported whether as news or statistics.
The other is that evil finds a way and that tends to involve knives and whatever other weapons can be used. And remember, kids, anything is a weapon if you’re creative or crazy enough.
Again, read yesterday’s post comparing “gun violence” in the US and Australia for a clearer view of the difference.
Violent acts involving firearms here in America are just like the ones that happens in other countries, meaning they involve soft targets. Schools are a favorite because our government has, in its infinite wisdom, created shooting galleries known as gun-free zones.
Some states and schools, especially here in Texas, have decided to arm teachers and staff, creating harder targets and ours aren’t the schools that get hit.
Instead it’s those known as gun-free zones. Churches are another favorite, but that hasn’t worked out great for murderers in America thanks to the guys who are carrying pews while sitting in the pews (sorry, I had to).
Mass shootings involving firearms are far less common in America than some left-leaning sources would have you believe. And when they do happen, it’s people with guns who often take the bad guys out before police even get there.
The Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach was the ultimate soft target because no one in Australia is walking around armed. The killers knew that. You can expect more of these incidents as radicalized members of [insert-religion-or-belief-system-here] continue to get bolder. And they will.
If you don’t have a gun, you’re the perfect victim. Sadly, that goes for the heroes of Bondi Beach as well, because so many of them were murdered during courageous acts.
Get a gun.
One More Thing…
If you’re a member of a targeted community—Jews, trans people, whatever—and you’re anti-gun, you’re a fool. As a woman, white though I may be, I’m a believer in being able to utilize necessary force to keep myself alive. A rape whistle isn’t going to cut it. Neither is stomping on an attacker’s instep or peeing myself.
But don’t take my word for it, listen to Yehuda Remer, known to many of you as The Pew Pew Jew:
Jews need to remember we come from a warrior heritage. Picking up a firearm and training with it helps protect your person and those around you. Always remember, people with ARs don’t get in cattle cars.
Saying I’m pro-gun and pro-self-defense is an understatement. My reasons are everything from hunting to self-defense to protection against tyranny. Maybe I want to be able to go out and shoot a bunch of feral hogs (which I did last night) and fill my freezer. Perhaps I want to survive any encounter with a violent attacker. Or it could just be that I believe in freedom.
The deaths at Bondi Beach are heart-wrenching…and largely avoidable. But despite because of that bloodshed, I will not back down on the importance of firearms ownership. Sometimes that makes me and those like me appear to be unfeeling monsters when nothing could be further from the truth. We care, so we carry.
Get a gun. Eliminate soft targets. If we do more of both, things will change drastically for the better.
To quote Shane—because why not?—remember: “A gun is a tool…no better or worse than any other tool: an axe, a shovel, or anything. A gun is as good or as bad as the man using it. Remember that.”
Welsh policeman Ernest Rollings was one of millions of men who enlisted for active duty in 
El Salvador: Gang members drop into CECOT megaprison 2024 gang homicides: Stockton, CA → 54 El Salvador → 0 One country coddles criminals. The other ended them. Choose your policy.
