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Following the tragedy of the awful incident at Bondi, Australia is facing several critical conversations. We are seeing a long-overdue national spotlight on anti-Jewish sentiment, an ongoing concern about public safety, and questions about how such an tragedy could occur. But, from the perspective of a public health expert and Jewish Australian, the most important discussion we are now having centers on firearms.

Ten Years of Warnings and a Proven Response

Health experts have been issuing warnings about firearms for at least a ten-year period. In the wake of the Port Arthur massacre, Australians came together and enacted a suite of measures to reduce gun violence across the country. And it worked. Before 1996, the nation witnessed roughly one large-scale firearm incident per year. Over the following years, there have been extremely rare major events, with none reaching the fatalities of the shootings in the 1980s and 1990s.

The Bondi Attack and the Role of Current Laws

Amidst the Bondi tragedy, the nation's gun laws were not entirely useless. Reports indicate the alleged attackers possessed with manually-operated long guns and a straight-pull shotgun. These weapons can only fire a one round at a time, requiring a physical action to chamber the next round. Although these guns can be fired rapidly with lethal results, they remain far slower and less efficient than the high-capacity, semi-automatic rifles commonplace in overseas attacks. The number of deaths at Bondi would've been far higher if more advanced weapons had been available.

Preventing a future Bondi demands national cohesion. And unfortunately, we have already seen cracks in the united front.

A System Under Strain

Yet, the horrific toll of the incident demonstrates that existing firearm regulations are failing. Crafted in the late 1990s with the noblest aims, years have worn away their effectiveness. Alarmingly, there are currently more firearms in Australia than before the Port Arthur shooting, with some citizens in urban areas reportedly holding collections numbering in the hundreds.

The nation has grown complacent and it has exacted a terrible price.

The Path Forward: Proposed Reforms

Since the Bondi attack, there have been multiple declarations regarding strengthened gun laws. New South Wales specifically will shortly enact a suite of measures to mitigate the public danger posed by firearms. The national government has proposed a fresh gun buyback, and there is hope for a countrywide gun database, despite the inherent challenges of aligning state and federal governments.

All of this are feasible provided that the nation works together. As noted, when it comes to gun control, the country is only as strong as its least stringent jurisdiction. This is the very nature of the Australian system – regulations in one state are easily circumvented if they can be avoided with a short drive across a border.

Addressing Frequent Objections

There is the inevitable argument that "guns don't kill people, individuals are". This is accurate in the same sense that planes don't transport people, aviators do. Yes, aircraft require operators, but it would be virtually impossible for a captain to move 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 alleged terrorists had been denied access to the firearms they used.

Weighing Necessity and Security

There are legitimate needs for some Australians to own firearms. Managing livestock or controlling vermin in rural areas is extremely difficult without them. A complete removal of firearms from the country is not feasible, as in certain contexts they are essential tools.

What we can do – what we must do – is to guarantee that gun laws are updated to accurately reflect the society we live in today. Australia's legislation have long been the envy of the world, but time and distance 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 make certain that future generations are as protected as previous generations have been.

A commentator observed after the Bondi attack, "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 attack was, there is hope that it can become the last one the nation experiences.