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In the aftermath of the horrific attack at Bondi, Australia is confronting multiple critical conversations. We are seeing a long-overdue national focus on anti-Jewish sentiment, an persistent worry about national security, and inquiries about the way such an event could happen. But, as viewed of a health professional and Jewish Australian, the paramount discussion we are now having revolves around firearms.

Ten Years of Cautions and a Successful Solution

Health specialists have been issuing warnings about guns for at least a ten-year period. In the wake of the Port Arthur massacre, Australians came together and implemented a series of reforms to curb gun violence across the country. The strategy succeeded. Prior to 1996, the nation witnessed roughly one mass shooting per year. In the decades since, there have been extremely rare significant tragedies, with none approaching the fatalities of the incidents in the 1980s and 1990s.

The Bondi Attack and the Role of Current Regulations

Even during the Bondi events, the nation's gun laws were partially effective. Reports indicate the individuals involved might have been armed with bolt-action rifles and a straight-pull shotgun. These firearms can only fire a one round at a time, necessitating a physical action to chamber the subsequent shot. Although these guns are capable of being discharged quite quickly with lethal results, they remain far slower and less efficient than the high-capacity, self-loading rifles frequently used in overseas mass shootings. The number of deaths at Bondi could have been much greater if different firearms had been available.

Preventing another Bondi demands unity across all states. Regrettably, there are already fissures in the united front.

Legislation Showing Weakness

Yet, the horrific toll of the attack reveals that current gun laws 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 cities owning collections of hundreds of weapons.

We have been overconfident and it has cost us terribly.

The Road Ahead: Announced Changes

Since the Bondi attack, there have been numerous announcements regarding strengthened firearm legislation. New South Wales in particular will soon introduce a suite of reforms to mitigate the collective risk from firearms. The national government has announced a new gun buyback, and there is potential for a national firearms registry, notwithstanding the complexities of coordinating state and federal governments.

All of this are feasible if the nation acts in unison. As stated, when it comes to gun control, the country is only as strong as its least stringent jurisdiction. This is the very nature of the Australian system – laws in one state are much less meaningful if they can be avoided with a short drive across a border.

Countering Frequent Objections

We hear the inevitable response that "guns don't kill people, people kill people". This is true in the identical way that planes don't transport people, pilots do. Certainly, aircraft require operators, but it would be quite challenging for a captain to transport 500 people overseas without the plane. The horrific violence seen at Bondi would be all but impossible without guns, and would have been far less damaging if the alleged terrorists had not had access to the weapons they possessed.

Balancing Necessity and Security

It is acknowledged there are legitimate needs for some Australians to possess guns. Managing livestock or culling pests in rural areas is extremely difficult without them. A complete removal 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 gun laws are modernized to accurately reflect the society we live in today. Australia's laws have long 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 vital to learn from the tragedy of Bondi to heart, and make certain that future generations are equally safe as previous generations have been.

A commentator remarked after the Bondi events, "such tragedies just don't happen here". They don't, but only because the country has collectively worked to maintain its security. However horrific as the incident was, there is an aspiration that it can serve as the final tragedy the nation experiences.