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In the aftermath of the awful incident at Bondi, Australia is facing multiple critical reckonings. We are seeing a much-needed national focus on anti-Jewish sentiment, an persistent worry about public safety, and questions about the way such an event could happen. But, as viewed of a health professional and Australian Jew, the most important discussion we are now having revolves around firearms.

A Decade of Cautions and a Proven Response

Health specialists have been issuing warnings about guns for at least a decade. Following the events of the Port Arthur tragedy, Australians came together and enacted a series of measures to curb 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 reaching the fatalities of the shootings in the 1980s and 1990s.

This Recent Tragedy and the Role of Existing Regulations

Amidst the Bondi events, the nation's firearm regulations were partially effective. Reports indicate the alleged attackers possessed with manually-operated long guns and a straight-pull shotgun. These firearms are limited to firing a single bullet at a time, necessitating a manual operation to ready the subsequent shot. While these guns can be fired rapidly with lethal results, 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 more advanced firearms had been accessible.

Preventing another Bondi requires unity across all states. And unfortunately, we have already seen fissures in the united front.

A System Showing Weakness

However, the terrible toll of the attack reveals that existing gun laws are failing. Designed in the late 1990s with the best of intentions, decades have worn away their effectiveness. Concerningly, there are currently more firearms in Australia than prior to the Port Arthur massacre, with some individuals in urban areas owning collections of hundreds of weapons.

We have been complacent and it has cost us terribly.

The Path Forward: Announced Reforms

Since the Bondi attack, there have been numerous declarations regarding new firearm legislation. New South Wales in particular will shortly enact a package of measures to reduce the collective risk from firearms. The federal government has proposed a fresh firearm surrender scheme, and there is potential for a national firearms registry, despite the complexities of aligning state and federal governments.

These measures are feasible if the nation acts in unison. As stated, when it comes to firearm laws, the country is only as strong as its least stringent jurisdiction. This is the reality of the Australian system – laws in one state are easily circumvented if they can be bypassed with a short drive across a border.

Addressing Common Arguments

We hear the inevitable argument that "firearms are not the killers, individuals are". This is true in the same sense that aircraft do not fly passengers, pilots do. Yes, aircraft require operators, but it would be quite challenging for a captain to transport 500 people internationally without the aircraft. The horrific violence seen at Bondi would be extremely difficult without firearms, and would have been significantly less lethal if the alleged terrorists had been denied access to the weapons they possessed.

Weighing Need and Security

There are valid reasons for some Australians to possess firearms. Farm work or culling pests in many places is incredibly hard without them. A total ban of guns from the country is not feasible, as in some cases they are indispensable.

What we can do – what we must do – is to guarantee that firearm legislation are updated to accurately reflect the society we live in today. Australia's legislation have long been the admiration of the world, but the passage of years has taken a toll and the nation is no longer as safe as it once was. It is critical to learn from the tragedy of Bondi to heart, and ensure that coming Australians are equally safe as past generations have been.

As one friend observed after the Bondi events, "such tragedies just don't happen here". This is true, but solely due to the fact that the country has made concerted efforts to keep itself safe. As nightmarish as the attack was, there is an aspiration that it can become the final tragedy the nation ever sees.