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Following the tragedy of the horrific incident at Bondi, Australia is facing multiple critical conversations. We are seeing a long-overdue national spotlight on anti-Jewish sentiment, an persistent concern about public safety, and questions about the way such an event could occur. But, from the perspective of a health professional and Australian Jew, the paramount discussion we are now having revolves around firearms.

A Decade of Warnings and a Proven Response

Health experts have been issuing warnings 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 measures to reduce gun violence across the country. And it worked. Before 1996, the nation witnessed roughly one large-scale firearm incident per year. In the decades since, there have been extremely rare significant tragedies, with none reaching the fatalities of the incidents in the 1980s and 1990s.

This Recent Tragedy and the Role of Current Laws

Amidst the Bondi events, the nation's firearm regulations were not entirely useless. It has been suggested the alleged attackers might have been armed with bolt-action rifles and a 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 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 overseas attacks. The casualty count at Bondi could have been much greater if different firearms had been available.

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

Legislation Under Strain

However, the terrible toll of the attack reveals that current gun laws are failing. Designed in the late 1990s with the noblest aims, decades have worn away their efficacy. Concerningly, there are now more firearms in Australia than prior to the Port Arthur shooting, with some citizens in urban areas owning arsenals numbering in the hundreds.

We have been complacent and it has cost us terribly.

The Road Ahead: Proposed Changes

In the time after the Bondi tragedy, there have been numerous declarations regarding strengthened firearm legislation. The state of NSW in particular will shortly introduce a suite of reforms to mitigate the public danger from firearms. The federal government has announced a new gun buyback, and there is hope for a countrywide gun database, notwithstanding the inherent challenges 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 dependent on its least stringent jurisdiction. This is the very nature of the Australian system – regulations in one state are easily circumvented if they can be bypassed with a short drive across a border.

Countering Frequent Arguments

There is the inevitable response that "guns don't kill people, individuals are". This is true in the same sense that planes don't transport people, pilots do. Yes, planes can't fly themselves, but it would be quite challenging 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 significantly less lethal if the accused individuals had not had access to the firearms they possessed.

Balancing Need and Safety

It is acknowledged there are legitimate needs for some Australians to own guns. Farm work or controlling vermin in many places is incredibly hard without them. A complete removal of firearms from the country is not feasible, as in some cases they are essential tools.

The achievable goal – what we must do – is to guarantee that firearm legislation are modernized to accurately reflect the society we live in today. Australia's laws have long been the admiration of the world, but the passage of years has taken a toll and the nation is less secure as it previously was. It is vital to learn from the tragedy of Bondi to heart, and make certain that coming Australians are as protected as past generations have been.

As one commentator observed after the Bondi events, "such tragedies just don't happen here". This is true, but only because the country has collectively worked to keep itself safe. As nightmarish as the attack was, there is an aspiration that it can serve as the last one the nation ever sees.