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In the aftermath of the awful incident at Bondi, Australia is facing several pressing conversations. There is a much-needed national focus on anti-Jewish sentiment, an persistent worry about national security, and questions about how such an tragedy could happen. However, as viewed of a health professional and Australian Jew, the paramount discussion we are now having centers on firearms.

Ten Years of Warnings and a Successful Solution

Public health specialists have been issuing warnings about firearms for a minimum of a ten-year period. In the wake of the Port Arthur massacre, Australians united and implemented a suite of reforms 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 approaching the fatalities of the incidents in the 1980s and 1990s.

The Bondi Tragedy and the Role of Current Regulations

Even during the Bondi events, the nation's gun laws were not entirely useless. Reports indicate the alleged attackers possessed with manually-operated long guns and a straight-pull shotgun. These firearms can only fire a single bullet at a time, necessitating a physical action to chamber the subsequent shot. Although these guns can be fired rapidly with lethal results, they remain significantly less rapid and less efficient than the large-magazine, self-loading rifles commonplace in international mass shootings. The casualty count at Bondi would've been far higher if more advanced weapons had been available.

Stopping a future Bondi requires national cohesion. Regrettably, there are already cracks in the united front.

A System Under Strain

However, the terrible toll of the incident demonstrates that current gun laws are inadequate. Designed in the late 1990s with the best of intentions, years have worn away their effectiveness. Alarmingly, there are currently a greater number of guns in Australia than before the Port Arthur shooting, with some individuals in cities reportedly holding collections numbering in the hundreds.

The nation has grown complacent and it has exacted a terrible price.

The Path Forward: Proposed Changes

In the time after the Bondi attack, there have been multiple declarations regarding strengthened gun laws. The state of NSW specifically will soon introduce a package of measures to mitigate the collective risk from firearms. The national government has proposed a fresh firearm surrender scheme, and there is hope for a national firearms registry, despite the complexities of aligning state and federal jurisdictions.

These measures are only possible provided that the nation acts in unison. As stated, when it comes to firearm laws, the country is dependent on its weakest link. This is the very nature of the Australian system – laws in one state are much less meaningful if they can be bypassed with a short drive across a border.

Countering Common Arguments

There is the inevitable response that "firearms are not the killers, individuals are". This is accurate in the same sense that aircraft do not fly passengers, pilots do. Certainly, planes can't fly themselves, but it would be virtually impossible for a pilot to transport 500 people internationally without the plane. The horrific violence seen 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.

Weighing Need and Safety

It is acknowledged there are legitimate reasons for some Australians to own guns. Managing livestock or controlling vermin in many places is incredibly hard without them. A total ban of firearms from the country is impractical, 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 world we live in today. Australia's laws have long been the envy of the world, but time and distance 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 ensure that future generations are as protected as previous generations have been.

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