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Following the tragedy of the awful attack at Bondi, Australia is confronting multiple critical reckonings. There is a much-needed national focus on anti-Jewish sentiment, an persistent concern about national security, and inquiries about how such an event could happen. However, as viewed of a health professional and Australian Jew, the paramount discussion we are now having centers on firearms.

Ten Years of Warnings and a Proven Response

Public health specialists have been sounding alarms about guns for at least a decade. In the wake of the Port Arthur tragedy, Australians came together and enacted a suite of reforms to curb gun violence across the country. The strategy succeeded. Prior to 1996, the nation experienced approximately one large-scale firearm incident per year. Over the following years, there have been extremely rare significant tragedies, with none approaching the death toll of the shootings in the 1980s and 1990s.

The Bondi Tragedy and the Role of Existing Laws

Amidst the Bondi tragedy, the nation's firearm regulations were not entirely useless. Reports indicate the alleged attackers might have been armed with bolt-action rifles and a straight-pull shotgun. These weapons can only fire a single bullet at a time, necessitating a manual operation to chamber the next round. While these guns are capable of being discharged rapidly with lethal results, they remain far slower and more cumbersome than the high-capacity, self-loading rifles frequently used in international mass shootings. The number of deaths at Bondi could have been much greater if more advanced weapons had been accessible.

Stopping another Bondi demands national cohesion. And unfortunately, there are already cracks in the united front.

A System Showing Weakness

However, the terrible toll of the attack demonstrates that current firearm regulations are inadequate. Designed in the late 1990s with the best of intentions, years have eroded their effectiveness. Alarmingly, there are currently a greater number of guns in Australia than before the Port Arthur shooting, with some individuals in cities reportedly holding collections numbering in the hundreds.

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

The Road Ahead: Proposed Changes

In the time after the Bondi attack, there have been numerous announcements regarding strengthened gun laws. The state of NSW specifically will soon introduce a package of measures to reduce the collective risk posed by firearms. The federal government has proposed a fresh firearm surrender scheme, and there is hope for a countrywide gun database, despite the complexities of aligning state and federal jurisdictions.

All of this are feasible provided that the nation acts in unison. As stated, when it comes to firearm laws, the country is only as strong as its weakest link. This is the reality of the Australian federation – laws in one state are much less meaningful if they can be bypassed with a short drive across a border.

Countering Frequent Objections

We hear the predictable response that "firearms are not the killers, people kill people". This is accurate in the same sense that planes don't transport people, aviators do. Certainly, aircraft require operators, but it would be quite challenging for a pilot to transport 500 people internationally without the aircraft. The mass slaughter witnessed at Bondi would be all but impossible 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 legitimate reasons for some Australians to possess guns. Managing livestock or controlling vermin 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 essential tools.

What we can do – what we must do – is to ensure that gun laws are updated to accurately reflect the society we live in today. Australia's laws have long been the envy of the world, but the passage of years has done its work and the nation is no longer as safe as it once was. It is vital to take the lessons of Bondi seriously, and ensure that coming Australians are as protected as previous generations have been.

As one friend remarked after the Bondi events, "things like this just don't happen here". They don't, but solely due to the fact that the country has made concerted efforts to keep itself safe. However horrific as the attack was, there is hope that it can become the final tragedy the nation ever sees.