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In the aftermath of the horrific attack at Bondi, Australia is facing multiple critical conversations. There is a much-needed national spotlight on antisemitism, an ongoing worry about public safety, and questions about the way such an tragedy could occur. But, from the perspective of a health professional and Australian Jew, the most important dialogue we are finally having revolves around firearms.

A Decade of Warnings and a Successful Solution

Public health specialists have been sounding alarms about guns for at least a ten-year period. In the wake of the Port Arthur tragedy, Australians came together and enacted a series of reforms to reduce gun violence across the country. The strategy succeeded. Prior to 1996, the nation witnessed approximately one mass shooting per year. In the decades since, there have been vanishingly few major events, with none approaching the death toll of the incidents in the 1980s and 1990s.

This Recent Tragedy and the Function of Existing Laws

Even during the Bondi tragedy, the nation's gun laws were not entirely useless. It has been suggested the alleged attackers might have been armed with manually-operated long guns and a straight-pull shotgun. These firearms are limited to firing a single bullet at a time, necessitating a physical action to ready the subsequent shot. While these guns can be fired rapidly with lethal results, they remain far slower and less efficient than the large-magazine, semi-automatic rifles frequently used in overseas mass shootings. The casualty count at Bondi would've been far higher if more advanced weapons had been accessible.

Preventing a future Bondi requires unity across all states. And unfortunately, there are already cracks in the united front.

Legislation Showing Weakness

However, the horrific consequences of the incident demonstrates that current firearm regulations are inadequate. Designed in the late 1990s with the best of intentions, decades have worn away their efficacy. Alarmingly, there are now more firearms in Australia than before the Port Arthur shooting, with some citizens in urban areas reportedly holding arsenals of hundreds of weapons.

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

The Path Forward: Proposed Reforms

Since the Bondi tragedy, there have been multiple declarations regarding strengthened firearm legislation. New South Wales specifically will shortly enact a suite 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 inherent challenges of coordinating state and federal jurisdictions.

All of this are feasible if the nation acts in unison. As stated, when it comes to gun control, the country is only as strong as its least stringent jurisdiction. This is the very nature of the Australian federation – laws in one state are easily circumvented if they can be avoided with a short drive across a state line.

Countering Common Arguments

There is the inevitable argument that "guns don't kill people, people kill people". This is true 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 overseas without the plane. The horrific violence witnessed at Bondi would be extremely difficult without firearms, and would have been significantly less lethal if the alleged terrorists had not had access to the weapons they possessed.

Weighing Need and Safety

There are valid needs for some Australians to possess guns. Farm work or controlling vermin in rural areas is extremely difficult without them. A total ban of firearms from the country is impractical, as in some cases they are indispensable.

What we can do – the imperative action – is to ensure that gun laws are modernized to better match the society we live in today. Australia's legislation have historically been the admiration of the world, but the passage of years has done its work and the nation is no longer as safe as it previously was. It is critical to learn from the tragedy of Bondi to heart, and ensure that coming Australians are equally safe as past generations have been.

As one commentator observed after the Bondi events, "things like this just don't happen here". They don't, 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 final tragedy the nation experiences.