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In the aftermath of the horrific attack at Bondi, Australia is facing multiple pressing reckonings. There is a long-overdue national focus on anti-Jewish sentiment, an ongoing worry about national security, and inquiries about the way such an tragedy could happen. But, as viewed of a public health expert and Jewish Australian, the most important discussion we are now having centers on firearms.

A Decade of Warnings and a Proven Solution

Health specialists have been issuing warnings about firearms for at least a decade. Following the events of the Port Arthur tragedy, Australians came together and implemented a suite of measures to curb gun violence across the country. And it worked. Prior to 1996, the nation experienced approximately one large-scale firearm incident per year. Over the following years, there have been vanishingly few significant tragedies, with none reaching the fatalities of the shootings in the 1980s and 1990s.

The Bondi Attack and the Function of Current Regulations

Even during the Bondi events, the nation's gun laws were not entirely useless. Reports indicate the alleged attackers possessed with bolt-action rifles and a straight-pull shotgun. These firearms are limited to firing a single bullet at a time, necessitating a manual operation to chamber the subsequent shot. While these guns can be fired 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 casualty count at Bondi could have been much greater if different firearms had been available.

Preventing another Bondi demands national cohesion. Regrettably, we have already seen fissures in the united front.

Legislation Under Strain

However, the terrible consequences of the incident reveals that current gun laws are inadequate. Crafted in the late 1990s with the noblest aims, decades have worn away their effectiveness. Alarmingly, there are currently more firearms in Australia than before the Port Arthur shooting, with some citizens in cities reportedly holding arsenals numbering in the hundreds.

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

The Road Forward: Proposed Reforms

In the time after the Bondi attack, there have been numerous declarations regarding strengthened gun laws. The state of NSW in particular will soon enact a package of reforms to mitigate the public danger posed by firearms. The federal government has proposed a new gun buyback, and there is potential 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 noted, regarding firearm laws, the country is only as strong as its weakest link. 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.

Countering Common Objections

We hear the predictable response that "guns don't kill people, individuals are". This is true in the identical way that aircraft do not fly passengers, pilots do. Yes, planes can't fly themselves, but it would be virtually impossible for a captain to transport 500 people internationally without the plane. The mass slaughter seen at Bondi would be extremely difficult without firearms, and would have been far less damaging if the alleged terrorists had been denied access to the weapons they possessed.

Balancing Necessity and Safety

There are valid reasons for some Australians to possess firearms. 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 some cases they are essential tools.

What we can do – what we must do – is to ensure that gun laws are modernized to accurately reflect 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 no longer as safe as it previously was. It is critical 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, "things like this just don't happen here". This is true, but only because the country has collectively worked to maintain its security. As nightmarish as the incident was, there is an aspiration that it can serve as the final tragedy the nation experiences.