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Following the tragedy of the awful attack at Bondi, Australia is confronting several pressing reckonings. There is a long-overdue national spotlight on antisemitism, an ongoing concern about national security, and inquiries about the way such an event could happen. But, from the perspective of a health professional and Jewish Australian, the paramount dialogue we are now having centers on firearms.

Ten Years of Warnings and a Proven Response

Health experts have been sounding alarms about guns for a minimum of a ten-year period. Following the events of the Port Arthur tragedy, Australians came together and implemented a suite of measures to reduce gun violence across the country. 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 reaching the death toll of the shootings in the 1980s and 1990s.

This Recent Tragedy and the Function of Existing Regulations

Even during the Bondi events, the nation's gun laws were partially effective. It has been suggested the individuals involved possessed with bolt-action rifles and at least one straight-pull shotgun. These firearms can only fire a one round at a time, necessitating a manual operation to chamber the subsequent shot. While these guns can be fired quite quickly with lethal results, they remain significantly less rapid and more cumbersome than the high-capacity, semi-automatic rifles frequently used in international mass shootings. The casualty count at Bondi would've been far higher if more advanced firearms had been accessible.

Stopping a future Bondi demands unity across all states. Regrettably, we have already seen cracks in the united front.

A System Under Strain

However, the horrific toll of the incident demonstrates that current gun laws are failing. Designed in the late 1990s with the noblest aims, decades have eroded their efficacy. Concerningly, there are now more firearms in Australia than prior to the Port Arthur shooting, with some individuals in urban areas reportedly holding collections of hundreds of weapons.

The nation has grown complacent and it has cost us terribly.

The Path Forward: Proposed Reforms

In the time after the Bondi tragedy, there have been multiple announcements regarding new gun laws. The state of NSW in particular will shortly enact a package of reforms to mitigate the collective risk posed by firearms. The national government has announced a new firearm surrender scheme, and there is potential for a national firearms registry, notwithstanding the complexities of coordinating state and federal governments.

These measures are feasible if the nation works together. As noted, regarding gun control, the country is only as strong as its least stringent jurisdiction. This is the very nature of the Australian federation – regulations in one state are much less meaningful if they can be bypassed with a journey across a state line.

Addressing Frequent Objections

There is the inevitable argument that "guns don't kill people, individuals are". This is accurate in the identical way that aircraft do not fly passengers, aviators do. Certainly, planes can't fly themselves, but it would be virtually impossible for a captain to transport 500 people overseas without the plane. The horrific violence witnessed at Bondi would be all but impossible without guns, and would have been significantly less lethal if the accused individuals had not had access to the weapons they used.

Weighing Need and Safety

It is acknowledged there are valid reasons for some Australians to own firearms. Managing livestock or controlling vermin in rural areas is extremely difficult without them. A total ban of firearms from the country is impractical, as in certain contexts they are indispensable.

What we can do – the imperative action – is to guarantee that gun laws are updated to accurately reflect the society we live in today. Australia's laws have historically been the envy of the world, but time and distance has done its work and the nation is less secure as it previously was. It is vital to learn from the tragedy of Bondi seriously, and make certain that future generations are as protected as previous generations have been.

A friend remarked after the Bondi attack, "such tragedies just don't happen here". They don't, but only because the country has collectively worked to keep itself safe. As nightmarish as the attack was, there is hope that it can become the last one the nation ever sees.