Australia vows stricter gun laws as it mourns victims of its worst mass shooting in almost 30 years, in which police accuse a father-and-son duo of killing 15 people at a Jewish celebration at Sydney’s famed Bondi Beach.
The incident has raised questions about whether Australia’s gun laws, among the toughest in the world, need an overhaul, with police saying the older suspect had held a firearms license since 2015, along with six registered weapons.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says his cabinet agreed to strengthen gun laws and work on a national firearms register to tackle aspects such as the number of weapons permitted by gun licenses, and how long the latter are valid.
“People’s circumstances can change,” he told reporters before the cabinet met. “People can be radicalized over a period of time. Licences should not be in perpetuity.”
Albanese says measures being considered range from curbs on open-ended licenses to limits on weapons held by a single individual and the types that are legal, including modifications, with permits restricted to Australian citizens.
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