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In the aftermath of the horrific incident at Bondi, Australia is confronting several pressing conversations. We are seeing a long-overdue national focus on anti-Jewish sentiment, an ongoing concern about national security, and questions about the way such an tragedy could happen. However, as viewed of a health professional and Australian Jew, the paramount discussion we are finally having revolves around firearms.

A Decade of Warnings and a Proven Solution

Health experts have been sounding alarms about guns for at least a decade. Following the events of the Port Arthur massacre, Australians came together and implemented a series of reforms to curb gun violence nationwide. And it worked. Prior to 1996, the nation witnessed roughly one mass shooting per year. In the decades since, 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 alleged attackers might have been armed with manually-operated long guns and at least one straight-pull shotgun. These weapons can only fire a one round at a time, requiring a physical action to chamber the subsequent shot. Although these guns can be fired rapidly with lethal results, they remain far slower and more cumbersome than the high-capacity, self-loading rifles frequently used in international attacks. The casualty count at Bondi would've been far higher if different weapons had been accessible.

Stopping a future Bondi requires national cohesion. Regrettably, we have already seen fissures in the facade.

A System Showing Weakness

Yet, the horrific consequences of the incident demonstrates that existing firearm regulations are failing. Crafted in the late 1990s with the best of intentions, decades have eroded their efficacy. Concerningly, there are currently a greater number of guns in Australia than before the Port Arthur shooting, with some individuals in urban areas owning arsenals of hundreds of weapons.

The nation has grown overconfident and it has exacted a terrible price.

The Road Ahead: Announced Changes

In the time after the Bondi attack, there have been multiple announcements regarding new gun laws. New South Wales in particular will soon introduce a suite of measures to mitigate the public danger from firearms. The federal government has announced a fresh gun buyback, and there is hope for a countrywide gun database, despite the complexities of aligning state and federal governments.

All of this 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 reality of the Australian system – laws in one state are easily circumvented if they can be bypassed with a journey across a border.

Addressing Common Arguments

We hear the inevitable argument that "firearms are not the killers, people kill people". This is true in the same sense that planes don't transport people, pilots do. Certainly, aircraft require operators, but it would be quite challenging for a pilot to move 500 people overseas without the aircraft. The mass slaughter seen at Bondi would be all but impossible without firearms, and would have been significantly less lethal if the alleged terrorists had not had access to the weapons they used.

Weighing Necessity and Safety

It is acknowledged there are legitimate needs for some Australians to possess firearms. Managing livestock or controlling vermin in many places is extremely difficult without them. A complete removal of guns from the country is impractical, as in some cases they are essential tools.

What we can do – the imperative action – is to guarantee that firearm legislation are updated to better match the society we live in today. Australia's laws have long been the admiration of the world, but the passage of years has taken a toll and the nation is less secure as it once was. It is vital to take the lessons of Bondi to heart, and ensure that future generations are as protected as previous generations have been.

As one commentator observed after the Bondi attack, "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 serve as the last one the nation experiences.