Australian: Following a massacre, the state enacts strict gun controls and bans “terror symbols.”
Australian: After two shooters massacred 15 people enjoying a Jewish holiday in Sydney last week, the most populous state in Australia pushed through Monday what it said were the nation’s harshest gun regulations and a prohibition on exhibiting “terrorist” insignia.
In the bloodiest mass shooting to hit the country in over thirty years, a father and son are charged with targeting a Hanukkah celebration on Bondi Beach, murdering fifteen people.
At 6:47 p.m. (07:47 GMT) on Sunday, precisely one week after the first reports of gunshots, the nation held a minute’s silence.
The government of New South Wales, the state where the massacre occurred, asked for a two-day recall of parliament on Monday in order to enact what it described as the “toughest firearm reforms in the country.”
“We can’t pretend that the world is the same as it was before that terrorist incident on Sunday,” Chris Minns, the premier of New South Wales, told reporters.
“I’d give anything to go back a week, a month, two years, to ensure that didn’t happen, but we need to make sure that we take steps so that it never happens again.”
The new regulations would limit an individual’s gun ownership to four, or 10 for those who are exempt, such as farmers.
According to authorities, there are over 1.1 million weapons in the state.
Additionally, the bill would ban the exhibition of “terrorist symbols,” such as the Islamic State flag, which was discovered in a vehicle connected to one of the suspected shooters.
After a terrorist attack, authorities would also have the authority to ban demonstrations for a maximum of three months.
According to the police, “Islamic State ideology” served as inspiration for the two suspected shooters.
During the Bondi assault, one, 50-year-old Sajid Akram, was shot and killed by police. He is an Indian citizen who obtained a visa to visit Australia in 1998.
His 24-year-old son, Naveed, who was born in Australia, is still being held in a hospital under police protection and is accused of 15 murders and terrorism.
On Monday, Minns said that he will also investigate tougher anti-hate speech laws for the next year, which would include prohibitions on the use of the slogan “globalise the intifada”.
The slogan, which alludes to previous uprisings against Israeli troops in the occupied territories, is often chanted during pro-Palestinian demonstrations.
The federal government of Australia has also called for a review of police and intelligence agencies, as well as a number of changes to legislation pertaining to hate speech and gun ownership.
A comprehensive buyback plan to “get guns off our streets” was unveiled by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese last week.
It is the biggest gun buyback since Australia clamped controls on weapons in 1996 after a mass massacre at Port Arthur that claimed 35 lives.