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Following the tragedy of the awful incident at Bondi, Australia is confronting multiple pressing conversations. We are seeing a much-needed national focus on antisemitism, an persistent worry about public safety, and questions about the way such an tragedy could occur. However, as viewed of a public health expert and Australian Jew, the paramount dialogue we are finally having centers on firearms.

A Decade of Cautions and a Proven 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 measures to reduce gun violence across the country. The strategy succeeded. Before 1996, the nation witnessed approximately one large-scale firearm incident per year. Over the following years, there have been vanishingly few significant tragedies, with none approaching the fatalities of the incidents in the 1980s and 1990s.

This Recent 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 at least one straight-pull shotgun. These weapons are limited to firing a single bullet at a time, requiring a physical action to chamber the subsequent shot. Although these guns can be fired quite quickly with lethal results, they remain significantly less rapid and more cumbersome than the high-capacity, semi-automatic rifles frequently used in overseas mass shootings. The casualty count at Bondi could have been much greater if more advanced firearms had been accessible.

Stopping a future Bondi demands unity across all states. Regrettably, we have already seen fissures in the facade.

Legislation Under Strain

However, the terrible toll of the incident reveals that current firearm regulations are inadequate. Crafted in the late 1990s with the best of intentions, years have worn away their efficacy. Alarmingly, there are currently more firearms in Australia than before the Port Arthur massacre, with some citizens in cities reportedly holding arsenals numbering in the hundreds.

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

The Road Ahead: Proposed Changes

In the time after the Bondi attack, there have been numerous announcements regarding new gun laws. The state of NSW in particular will shortly enact a suite of reforms to mitigate the collective risk posed by firearms. The national government has proposed a new gun buyback, and there is potential for a national firearms registry, despite the complexities of aligning state and federal jurisdictions.

These measures are feasible provided that the nation works together. As stated, when it comes to firearm laws, the country is only as strong as its least stringent jurisdiction. This is the reality of the Australian federation – regulations in one state are much less meaningful if they can be avoided with a journey across a border.

Addressing Frequent Objections

There is the inevitable argument that "guns don't kill people, people kill people". This is true in the identical way that aircraft do not fly passengers, aviators do. Certainly, aircraft require operators, but it would be virtually impossible for a captain to move 500 people internationally without the plane. The horrific violence witnessed at Bondi would be all but impossible without guns, and would have been far less damaging if the accused individuals had been denied access to the firearms they used.

Balancing Need and Security

It is acknowledged there are valid needs for some Australians to own firearms. Managing livestock or controlling vermin in rural areas is extremely difficult without them. A total ban of guns from the country is impractical, as in some cases they are essential tools.

What we can do – what we must do – is to guarantee that firearm legislation are updated to better match the world we live in today. Australia's legislation have historically been the admiration of the world, but time and distance has taken a toll and the nation is no longer as safe as it previously was. It is critical to take the lessons of Bondi seriously, and make certain that coming Australians are equally safe as previous generations have been.

A commentator remarked after the Bondi events, "things like this just don't happen here". They don't, but solely due to the fact that the country has collectively worked to keep itself safe. However horrific as the attack was, there is hope that it can serve as the last one the nation ever sees.