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Following the tragedy of the horrific attack at Bondi, Australia is confronting multiple critical reckonings. We are seeing a long-overdue national focus on antisemitism, an ongoing concern about national security, and questions about the way such an tragedy could happen. However, from the perspective of a public health expert and Australian Jew, the paramount discussion we are finally having revolves around firearms.

A Decade of Warnings and a Proven Solution

Health specialists have been sounding alarms about firearms for a minimum of a ten-year period. In the wake of the Port Arthur tragedy, Australians united and implemented a suite of measures to reduce gun violence nationwide. And it worked. Prior to 1996, the nation experienced roughly one mass shooting per year. In the decades since, there have been extremely rare significant tragedies, with none approaching the death toll of the shootings in the 1980s and 1990s.

This Recent Attack and the Role of Existing Regulations

Even during 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 are capable of being discharged quite quickly with devastating effect, they remain significantly less rapid and more cumbersome than the large-magazine, self-loading rifles commonplace in international attacks. The number of deaths at Bondi would've been far higher if different weapons had been available.

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

Legislation Under Strain

Yet, the horrific toll of the incident reveals that existing gun laws are inadequate. Designed in the late 1990s with the noblest aims, years have worn away their effectiveness. Alarmingly, there are now a greater number of guns in Australia than before the Port Arthur shooting, with some citizens in urban areas owning arsenals of hundreds of weapons.

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

The Road Ahead: Announced Reforms

In the time after the Bondi attack, there have been multiple declarations regarding strengthened gun laws. New South Wales in particular will soon introduce a package of measures to reduce the public danger from firearms. The national government has proposed a fresh firearm surrender scheme, and there is hope for a national firearms registry, notwithstanding the complexities of coordinating state and federal jurisdictions.

These measures are only possible 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 reality of the Australian federation – regulations in one state are much less meaningful if they can be bypassed with a journey across a border.

Addressing Common Arguments

We hear the predictable argument that "guns don't kill people, people kill people". This is accurate in the same sense that planes don't transport people, aviators do. Certainly, planes can't fly themselves, but it would be virtually impossible for a captain to transport 500 people internationally without the plane. The horrific violence witnessed at Bondi would be all but impossible without firearms, and would have been far less damaging if the accused individuals had not had access to the weapons they possessed.

Weighing Need and Security

It is acknowledged there are valid needs for some Australians to own guns. Managing livestock or culling pests in rural areas is incredibly hard without them. A total ban of firearms from the country is not feasible, as in certain contexts they are indispensable.

The achievable goal – what we must do – is to ensure that firearm legislation are modernized to better match the world we live in today. Australia's laws have historically been the envy of the world, but the passage of years has taken a toll and the nation is less secure as it once was. It is vital to take the lessons of Bondi to heart, and make certain that coming Australians are as protected as past generations have been.

As one commentator remarked after the Bondi attack, "such tragedies just don't happen here". They don't, but solely due to the fact that the country has collectively worked to keep itself safe. As nightmarish as the attack was, there is an aspiration that it can become the last one the nation experiences.