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Following the tragedy of the awful incident at Bondi, Australia is facing several critical conversations. There is a much-needed national spotlight on anti-Jewish sentiment, an persistent worry about national security, and inquiries about how such an tragedy could occur. But, as viewed of a health professional and Jewish Australian, the paramount dialogue we are finally having revolves around firearms.

A Decade of Cautions and a Proven Solution

Health specialists have been sounding alarms about guns for at least a ten-year period. In the wake of the Port Arthur tragedy, Australians came together and enacted a suite of reforms to reduce gun violence across the country. And it worked. Before 1996, the nation experienced approximately one large-scale firearm incident per year. In the decades since, there have been vanishingly few major events, with none approaching the fatalities of the shootings in the 1980s and 1990s.

The Bondi Attack and the Role of Current Laws

Even during the Bondi events, the nation's gun laws were not entirely useless. Reports indicate the individuals involved possessed with manually-operated long guns and a straight-pull shotgun. These weapons 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 devastating effect, they remain significantly less rapid and less efficient than the high-capacity, semi-automatic rifles commonplace in overseas attacks. The number of deaths at Bondi would've been far higher if more advanced firearms had been accessible.

Preventing another Bondi demands national cohesion. And unfortunately, we have already seen cracks in the facade.

Legislation Under Strain

However, the terrible consequences of the attack demonstrates that current gun laws are failing. Designed in the late 1990s with the noblest aims, decades have eroded their effectiveness. Concerningly, there are currently more firearms in Australia than prior to the Port Arthur shooting, with some citizens in cities reportedly holding collections of hundreds of weapons.

We have been complacent and it has cost us terribly.

The Path Ahead: Announced Changes

Since the Bondi attack, there have been multiple declarations regarding new gun laws. The state of NSW in particular will shortly enact a package of measures to mitigate the collective risk from firearms. The federal government has announced a new firearm surrender scheme, and there is potential for a countrywide gun database, despite the inherent challenges of aligning state and federal governments.

These measures are only possible provided that the nation acts in unison. As noted, when it comes to gun control, the country is only as strong as its weakest link. This is the reality of the Australian federation – regulations in one state are easily circumvented if they can be bypassed with a journey across a state line.

Addressing Frequent Objections

There is the predictable response that "guns don't kill people, people kill people". This is true in the identical way that aircraft do not fly passengers, pilots do. Certainly, planes can't fly themselves, but it would be virtually impossible for a captain to transport 500 people internationally 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 firearms they used.

Weighing Need and Security

There are legitimate needs for some Australians to own firearms. Managing livestock or culling pests 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 gun laws are modernized to better match the society we live in today. Australia's legislation have long 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 vital to learn from the tragedy of Bondi seriously, and ensure that future generations are as protected as past generations have been.

As one commentator observed 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. As nightmarish as the attack was, there is an aspiration that it can become the last one the nation experiences.