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Following the tragedy of the awful attack at Bondi, Australia is facing several pressing reckonings. We are seeing a long-overdue national focus on anti-Jewish sentiment, an persistent worry about public safety, and inquiries about how such an tragedy could happen. However, from the perspective of a public health expert and Australian Jew, the most important discussion we are finally having revolves around firearms.

Ten Years of Warnings and a Successful Response

Public health specialists have been issuing warnings about guns for a minimum of a ten-year period. Following the events of the Port Arthur tragedy, Australians came together and implemented a series of measures to curb gun violence nationwide. The strategy succeeded. Before 1996, the nation experienced roughly one mass shooting per year. In the decades since, there have been vanishingly few major events, with none reaching the death toll of the shootings in the 1980s and 1990s.

This Recent Attack and the Role of Existing Regulations

Amidst the Bondi events, the nation's firearm regulations were partially effective. It has been suggested the alleged attackers might have been armed with bolt-action rifles and at least one straight-pull shotgun. These weapons 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 devastating effect, they remain far slower and more cumbersome than the high-capacity, self-loading rifles frequently used in overseas attacks. The casualty count at Bondi could have been much greater if more advanced weapons had been available.

Preventing a future Bondi demands unity across all states. Regrettably, there are already cracks in the united front.

A System Showing Weakness

However, the horrific toll of the attack reveals that current firearm regulations are failing. Designed in the late 1990s with the best of intentions, decades have eroded their efficacy. Concerningly, there are currently a greater number of guns in Australia than prior to the Port Arthur shooting, with some individuals in urban areas reportedly holding collections numbering in the hundreds.

We have been overconfident and it has cost us terribly.

The Road Forward: Announced Changes

Since the Bondi tragedy, there have been numerous announcements regarding new gun laws. New South Wales specifically will shortly introduce a package of reforms to reduce the public danger posed by firearms. The national government has announced a fresh gun buyback, and there is hope for a countrywide gun database, notwithstanding the complexities of coordinating state and federal jurisdictions.

All of this are only possible if the nation works together. As stated, regarding firearm laws, 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 Common Arguments

We hear the inevitable argument that "guns don't kill people, individuals are". This is true in the identical way that planes don't transport people, pilots do. Yes, aircraft require operators, but it would be quite challenging for a captain to move 500 people internationally without the aircraft. The horrific violence seen at Bondi would be all but impossible without guns, and would have been far less damaging if the alleged terrorists had been denied access to the weapons they possessed.

Balancing Need and Security

There are legitimate reasons for some Australians to own firearms. Farm work or controlling vermin in many places 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 gun laws are updated to better match the society we live in today. Australia's legislation have long been the admiration of the world, but time and distance has done its work and the nation is less secure as it previously was. It is vital to take the lessons of Bondi to heart, and make certain that future generations are equally safe as past generations have been.

A friend observed after the Bondi attack, "things like this just don't happen here". This is true, but only because the country has made concerted efforts to maintain its security. However horrific as the attack was, there is hope that it can serve as the last one the nation ever sees.