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Following the tragedy of the horrific incident at Bondi, Australia is confronting several critical conversations. We are seeing a long-overdue national spotlight on anti-Jewish sentiment, an persistent worry about public safety, and inquiries about how such an tragedy could occur. However, from the perspective of a health professional and Australian Jew, the most important discussion we are finally having centers on firearms.

A Decade of Cautions and a Successful Solution

Public health specialists have been sounding alarms about guns for a minimum of a ten-year period. Following the events of the Port Arthur massacre, Australians came together and implemented a suite of reforms to reduce gun violence nationwide. The strategy succeeded. Before 1996, the nation experienced approximately one large-scale firearm incident per year. In the decades since, there have been extremely rare significant tragedies, with none approaching the fatalities of the shootings in the 1980s and 1990s.

The Bondi Tragedy and the Function of Current Regulations

Amidst the Bondi events, the nation's firearm regulations were not entirely useless. Reports indicate the alleged attackers possessed with manually-operated long guns and at least one straight-pull shotgun. These firearms can only fire a single bullet at a time, necessitating a manual operation to ready the subsequent shot. Although these guns are capable of being discharged quite quickly with lethal results, they remain far slower and less efficient than the large-magazine, self-loading rifles commonplace in international attacks. The number of deaths at Bondi could have been much greater if different weapons had been available.

Preventing another Bondi requires unity across all states. Regrettably, we have already seen fissures in the facade.

Legislation Under Strain

Yet, the terrible toll of the incident demonstrates that existing firearm regulations are inadequate. Crafted in the late 1990s with the noblest aims, decades have eroded their effectiveness. Concerningly, there are now a greater number of guns in Australia than prior to the Port Arthur massacre, with some citizens in cities reportedly holding arsenals of hundreds of weapons.

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

The Road Ahead: Proposed Changes

In the time after the Bondi tragedy, there have been multiple declarations regarding new gun laws. The state of NSW specifically will soon introduce a package of measures to reduce the public danger posed by firearms. The national government has announced a new gun buyback, and there is potential for a national firearms registry, notwithstanding the complexities of coordinating 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 very nature of the Australian federation – regulations in one state are easily circumvented if they can be avoided with a journey across a state line.

Addressing Frequent Arguments

We hear the predictable response that "firearms are not the killers, people kill people". This is accurate in the same sense that aircraft do not fly passengers, aviators do. Yes, planes can't fly themselves, but it would be virtually impossible for a pilot to transport 500 people overseas without the plane. The mass slaughter seen at Bondi would be all but impossible without firearms, and would have been far less damaging if the accused individuals had been denied access to the weapons they possessed.

Balancing Need and Security

There are legitimate needs for some Australians to possess firearms. Managing livestock or culling pests in rural areas is incredibly hard without them. A complete removal of guns from the country is not feasible, as in some cases they are essential tools.

What we can do – the imperative action – is to ensure that firearm legislation 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 taken a toll and the nation is no longer as safe as it once was. It is vital to learn from the tragedy of Bondi to heart, and make certain that future generations are equally safe as previous generations have been.

As one commentator observed 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 made concerted efforts to keep itself safe. As nightmarish as the attack was, there is hope that it can become the final tragedy the nation experiences.