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In the aftermath of the awful attack at Bondi, Australia is confronting several critical reckonings. There is a long-overdue national spotlight on anti-Jewish sentiment, an persistent concern about public safety, and inquiries about the way such an tragedy could happen. But, as viewed of a public health expert and Australian Jew, the most important dialogue we are now having revolves around firearms.

A Decade of Cautions and a Successful Solution

Health specialists have been sounding alarms about guns for a minimum of a ten-year period. In the wake of the Port Arthur tragedy, Australians united and enacted a suite of reforms to curb gun violence across the country. And it worked. Prior to 1996, the nation experienced approximately one mass shooting per year. In the decades since, there have been extremely rare major events, with none approaching the fatalities of the shootings in the 1980s and 1990s.

The Bondi Tragedy and the Role of Existing Laws

Amidst the Bondi events, the nation's firearm regulations were partially effective. Reports indicate the individuals involved possessed with bolt-action rifles and a straight-pull shotgun. These firearms can only fire a single bullet at a time, necessitating a physical action to chamber the subsequent shot. Although these guns can be fired quite quickly with lethal results, they remain far slower and more cumbersome than the high-capacity, self-loading rifles frequently used in international attacks. The number of deaths at Bondi would've been far higher if different weapons had been available.

Stopping another Bondi requires unity across all states. And unfortunately, there are already fissures in the united front.

A System Under Strain

However, the horrific toll of the incident reveals that current firearm regulations are inadequate. Designed in the late 1990s with the best of intentions, years have eroded their efficacy. Concerningly, there are currently more firearms in Australia than before the Port Arthur shooting, with some citizens in urban areas owning arsenals numbering in the hundreds.

We have been complacent and it has exacted a terrible price.

The Road Forward: Proposed Reforms

In the time after the Bondi tragedy, there have been multiple announcements regarding new gun laws. The state of NSW in particular will shortly introduce a package of measures to reduce the public danger from firearms. The national government has announced a fresh gun buyback, and there is potential for a national firearms registry, notwithstanding the inherent challenges of aligning state and federal jurisdictions.

These measures are feasible provided that the nation acts in unison. As stated, regarding gun control, the country is only as strong as its weakest link. This is the reality of the Australian federation – regulations in one state are easily circumvented if they can be bypassed with a short drive across a state line.

Addressing Frequent Objections

There is the inevitable response that "firearms are not the killers, people kill people". This is true in the same sense that aircraft do not fly passengers, pilots do. Yes, planes can't fly themselves, but it would be virtually impossible for a captain to transport 500 people overseas without the aircraft. The horrific violence 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 weapons they possessed.

Weighing Necessity and Security

There are valid needs for some Australians to own guns. Managing livestock or culling pests in rural areas is extremely difficult 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 done its work and the nation is less secure as it once was. It is critical to learn from the tragedy of Bondi seriously, and ensure that future generations are as protected as past generations have been.

A commentator remarked after the Bondi events, "such tragedies just don't happen here". They don't, but only because the country has made concerted efforts to maintain its security. As nightmarish as the incident was, there is hope that it can serve as the last one the nation experiences.