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Following the tragedy of the awful incident at Bondi, Australia is confronting several pressing reckonings. We are seeing a long-overdue national spotlight on anti-Jewish sentiment, an ongoing concern about public safety, and inquiries about how such an tragedy could occur. However, as viewed of a public health expert and Australian Jew, the most important dialogue we are finally having centers on firearms.

A Decade of Cautions and a Proven Response

Health experts have been issuing warnings about guns for at least a decade. Following the events of the Port Arthur massacre, Australians came together and enacted a suite of reforms to curb gun violence across the country. And it worked. Before 1996, the nation experienced roughly one large-scale firearm incident per year. Over the following years, there have been vanishingly few significant tragedies, with none reaching the fatalities of the incidents in the 1980s and 1990s.

This Recent Tragedy and the Role of Current Laws

Even during the Bondi tragedy, the nation's gun laws were partially effective. Reports indicate the individuals involved 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 next round. While these guns can be fired rapidly with devastating effect, they remain far slower and more cumbersome than the large-magazine, semi-automatic rifles frequently used in international attacks. The number of deaths at Bondi would've been far higher if more advanced firearms had been available.

Stopping another Bondi demands unity across all states. Regrettably, we have already seen cracks in the facade.

A System Under Strain

However, the horrific consequences of the incident demonstrates that current firearm regulations are failing. Designed in the late 1990s with the noblest aims, years have eroded their effectiveness. Concerningly, there are currently a greater number of guns in Australia than before the Port Arthur shooting, with some citizens in cities owning arsenals of hundreds of weapons.

The nation has grown complacent and it has cost us terribly.

The Path Ahead: Proposed Changes

Since the Bondi attack, there have been numerous declarations regarding new firearm legislation. The state of NSW specifically will soon enact a suite of reforms to reduce the collective risk posed by firearms. The federal government has announced a new gun buyback, and there is potential for a countrywide gun database, despite the inherent challenges of aligning state and federal governments.

All of this are feasible if the nation acts in unison. As noted, regarding firearm laws, the country is dependent on its weakest link. This is the very nature of the Australian federation – laws in one state are much less meaningful if they can be avoided with a short drive across a border.

Addressing Common Arguments

We hear the inevitable argument that "firearms are not the killers, people kill people". This is true in the same sense that aircraft do not fly passengers, pilots do. Certainly, aircraft require operators, but it would be virtually impossible for a pilot to transport 500 people internationally without the plane. The horrific violence witnessed at Bondi would be all but impossible without guns, and would have been significantly less lethal if the alleged terrorists had not had access to the firearms they used.

Weighing Need and Safety

There are legitimate needs for some Australians to own firearms. Farm work or controlling vermin in rural areas is incredibly hard without them. A total ban of guns from the country is impractical, as in some cases they are essential tools.

The achievable goal – what we must do – is to ensure that firearm legislation are updated to better match the society we live in today. Australia's legislation have long been the envy of the world, but the passage of years has done its work and the nation is less secure as it previously was. It is critical to take the lessons of Bondi seriously, and ensure that coming Australians are as protected as previous generations have been.

A commentator remarked after the Bondi events, "such tragedies 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 incident was, there is hope that it can serve as the last one the nation experiences.