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In the aftermath of the awful attack at Bondi, Australia is confronting several pressing conversations. There is a long-overdue national spotlight on antisemitism, an ongoing worry about public safety, and inquiries about how such an event could occur. But, from the perspective of a public health expert and Jewish Australian, the most important dialogue we are finally having centers on firearms.

A Decade of Warnings and a Successful Response

Public health experts have been sounding alarms about guns for a minimum of a decade. In the wake of the Port Arthur massacre, Australians united and enacted a series of reforms to curb gun violence nationwide. The strategy succeeded. Before 1996, the nation witnessed approximately one large-scale firearm incident per year. Over the following years, there have been vanishingly few significant tragedies, with none approaching the fatalities of the incidents in the 1980s and 1990s.

This Recent Attack and the Function of Existing Regulations

Amidst the Bondi tragedy, the nation's firearm regulations were not entirely useless. Reports indicate the individuals involved possessed with bolt-action rifles and a straight-pull shotgun. These firearms are limited to firing a one round at a time, necessitating a manual operation to chamber the subsequent shot. Although these guns can be fired rapidly with devastating effect, they remain far slower and less efficient than the high-capacity, semi-automatic rifles commonplace in overseas attacks. The number of deaths at Bondi would've been far higher if different weapons had been available.

Preventing another Bondi requires national cohesion. Regrettably, there are already fissures in the facade.

A System Under Strain

Yet, the terrible consequences of the incident demonstrates that existing firearm regulations are inadequate. Designed in the late 1990s with the best of intentions, decades have eroded their efficacy. Alarmingly, there are now more firearms in Australia than prior to the Port Arthur massacre, with some individuals in urban areas reportedly holding collections of hundreds of weapons.

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

The Road Ahead: Proposed Reforms

In the time after the Bondi tragedy, there have been multiple declarations regarding strengthened firearm legislation. The state of NSW in particular will soon introduce a suite of measures to reduce the collective risk posed by firearms. The national government has proposed a fresh gun buyback, and there is hope for a countrywide gun database, notwithstanding the complexities of aligning state and federal governments.

These measures are feasible provided that the nation works together. As stated, when it comes to firearm laws, the country is dependent on its weakest link. This is the reality of the Australian system – regulations in one state are easily circumvented if they can be avoided with a short drive across a state line.

Addressing Frequent Arguments

There is the predictable response that "guns don't kill people, individuals are". This is accurate in the identical way 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 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 used.

Balancing Necessity and Security

It is acknowledged there are legitimate needs for some Australians to possess firearms. Managing livestock or controlling vermin in rural areas is incredibly hard without them. A total ban of guns from the country is not feasible, as in some cases they are essential tools.

What we can do – what we must do – is to ensure that firearm legislation are updated to accurately reflect the society we live in today. Australia's laws have historically been the admiration of the world, but time and distance has taken a toll and the nation is no longer as safe as it once was. It is critical to take the lessons of Bondi seriously, and ensure that future generations are equally safe as past generations have been.

As one commentator observed after the Bondi events, "such tragedies just don't happen here". They don't, but solely due to the fact that the country has collectively worked to maintain its security. As nightmarish as the attack was, there is an aspiration that it can become the final tragedy the nation ever sees.