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In the aftermath of the awful incident at Bondi, Australia is confronting several pressing reckonings. We are seeing a much-needed national spotlight on anti-Jewish sentiment, an ongoing concern about public safety, and inquiries about the way such an event could happen. But, as viewed of a public health expert and Jewish Australian, the most important discussion we are now having revolves around firearms.

A Decade of Cautions and a Successful Response

Health specialists have been sounding alarms about guns for a minimum of a decade. In the wake of the Port Arthur tragedy, Australians came together and enacted a series of reforms to reduce gun violence nationwide. And it worked. Before 1996, the nation experienced roughly one large-scale firearm incident per year. In the decades since, there have been extremely rare major events, with none reaching the death toll of the incidents in the 1980s and 1990s.

The Bondi Tragedy and the Role of Current Laws

Even during the Bondi events, the nation's gun laws were partially effective. Reports indicate the alleged attackers might have been armed with manually-operated long guns and a straight-pull shotgun. These weapons are limited to firing a single bullet at a time, necessitating a manual operation to chamber the next round. Although these guns can be fired rapidly with devastating effect, they remain far slower and more cumbersome than the high-capacity, self-loading rifles frequently used in overseas attacks. The number of deaths at Bondi would've been far higher if different firearms had been available.

Preventing another Bondi demands national cohesion. Regrettably, we have already seen cracks in the facade.

A System Showing Weakness

However, the terrible toll of the incident reveals that existing gun laws are inadequate. Crafted in the late 1990s with the noblest aims, years have eroded their efficacy. Alarmingly, there are currently more firearms in Australia than prior to the Port Arthur massacre, with some citizens in urban areas reportedly holding collections numbering in the hundreds.

We have been overconfident and it has cost us terribly.

The Path Forward: Proposed Changes

Since the Bondi attack, there have been multiple declarations regarding new gun laws. The state of NSW in particular will soon introduce a suite of measures to reduce the public danger from firearms. The federal government has announced a new firearm surrender scheme, and there is potential for a national firearms registry, notwithstanding the complexities of aligning state and federal jurisdictions.

These measures are only possible if the nation acts in unison. As noted, regarding firearm laws, the country is dependent on its weakest link. This is the very nature of the Australian system – regulations in one state are much less meaningful if they can be avoided with a short drive across a state line.

Addressing Common Arguments

We hear the predictable response that "guns don't kill people, individuals are". This is true in the identical way that planes don't transport people, pilots do. Certainly, planes can't fly themselves, but it would be quite challenging for a pilot to transport 500 people overseas without the plane. The mass slaughter witnessed at Bondi would be extremely difficult without firearms, and would have been far less damaging if the accused individuals had not had access to the firearms they possessed.

Weighing Necessity and Safety

There are legitimate needs for some Australians to own firearms. Managing livestock or controlling vermin in many places is incredibly hard without them. A complete removal of firearms from the country is not feasible, as in some cases they are essential tools.

What we can do – what we must do – is to guarantee that gun laws are modernized to accurately reflect the world we live in today. Australia's legislation have long been the envy of the world, but the passage of years has taken a toll and the nation is less secure as it previously was. It is vital to take the lessons of Bondi seriously, and make certain that future generations are as protected as previous generations have been.

A commentator remarked after the Bondi attack, "such tragedies just don't happen here". They don't, but only because the country has collectively worked to maintain its security. However horrific as the attack was, there is hope that it can serve as the final tragedy the nation ever sees.