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In the aftermath of the horrific incident at Bondi, Australia is confronting several pressing conversations. There is a long-overdue national focus on anti-Jewish sentiment, an ongoing worry about public safety, and questions about the way such an tragedy could occur. However, as viewed of a health professional and Jewish Australian, the most important discussion we are finally having revolves around firearms.

A Decade of Cautions and a Proven Solution

Public health specialists have been sounding alarms about firearms for a minimum of a decade. In the wake of the Port Arthur massacre, Australians came together and enacted a series of measures to reduce gun violence nationwide. And it worked. Before 1996, the nation witnessed roughly one large-scale firearm incident per year. Over the following years, there have been vanishingly few significant tragedies, with none approaching the death toll of the shootings in the 1980s and 1990s.

This Recent Attack and the Function of Existing Laws

Amidst the Bondi events, the nation's gun laws were not entirely useless. Reports indicate the alleged attackers might have been armed with manually-operated long guns and at least one straight-pull shotgun. These firearms are limited to firing a one round at a time, necessitating a manual operation to ready the next round. While these guns can be fired quite quickly with lethal results, they remain far slower and less efficient than the high-capacity, self-loading rifles commonplace in overseas mass shootings. The number of deaths at Bondi would've been far higher if more advanced weapons had been accessible.

Preventing another Bondi demands unity across all states. Regrettably, there are already cracks in the facade.

Legislation Showing Weakness

Yet, the terrible consequences of the attack reveals that current gun laws are failing. Designed in the late 1990s with the noblest aims, years have eroded their effectiveness. Concerningly, there are now more firearms in Australia than prior to the Port Arthur massacre, with some citizens in cities owning collections of hundreds of weapons.

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

The Road Ahead: Announced Changes

Since the Bondi attack, there have been numerous announcements regarding strengthened firearm legislation. The state of NSW specifically will soon enact a suite of reforms to mitigate the collective risk posed by firearms. The federal government has announced a new firearm surrender scheme, and there is hope for a countrywide gun database, despite the complexities of coordinating state and federal governments.

These measures are feasible if the nation works together. As stated, regarding firearm laws, the country is only as strong as its least stringent jurisdiction. This is the very nature of the Australian federation – regulations in one state are easily circumvented if they can be avoided with a journey across a state line.

Addressing Frequent 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, aviators do. Yes, planes can't fly themselves, but it would be virtually impossible for a pilot to transport 500 people internationally without the aircraft. The mass slaughter seen at Bondi would be extremely difficult without guns, and would have been far less damaging if the accused individuals had not had access to the weapons they possessed.

Balancing Need and Security

It is acknowledged there are valid reasons for some Australians to own firearms. Farm work or culling pests in many places is extremely difficult without them. A complete removal of guns from the country is not feasible, as in certain contexts they are indispensable.

What we can do – the imperative action – is to ensure that gun laws are updated to accurately reflect the world we live in today. Australia's legislation have long been the envy of the world, but time and distance 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 make certain that future generations are equally safe as past generations have been.

As one commentator remarked after the Bondi attack, "such tragedies just don't happen here". They don't, but only because the country has made concerted efforts to keep itself safe. As nightmarish as the attack was, there is hope that it can serve as the last one the nation ever sees.