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In the aftermath of the horrific incident at Bondi, Australia is confronting several critical conversations. There is a long-overdue national focus on anti-Jewish sentiment, an persistent concern about national security, and inquiries about how such an tragedy could happen. However, as viewed of a public health expert and Jewish Australian, the paramount dialogue we are finally having revolves around firearms.

A Decade of Warnings and a Successful Solution

Public health experts have been issuing warnings about guns for a minimum of a ten-year period. Following the events of the Port Arthur tragedy, Australians united and enacted a series of measures to curb gun violence nationwide. The strategy succeeded. Prior to 1996, the nation experienced approximately one mass shooting per year. In the decades since, there have been extremely rare significant tragedies, with none reaching the death toll of the incidents in the 1980s and 1990s.

The Bondi Tragedy and the Function of Current Regulations

Even during the Bondi tragedy, the nation's firearm regulations were partially effective. Reports indicate the alleged attackers might have been armed 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 next round. While these guns are capable of being discharged quite quickly with devastating effect, they remain far slower and more cumbersome than the large-magazine, semi-automatic rifles commonplace 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 national cohesion. Regrettably, we have already seen cracks in the united front.

A System Under Strain

However, the terrible consequences of the attack demonstrates that current firearm regulations are inadequate. Designed in the late 1990s with the noblest aims, decades have worn away their efficacy. Alarmingly, there are currently a greater number of guns in Australia than prior to the Port Arthur massacre, with some citizens in cities reportedly holding arsenals numbering in the hundreds.

We have been overconfident and it has cost us terribly.

The Road Forward: Announced Reforms

Since the Bondi attack, there have been multiple announcements regarding new firearm legislation. The state of NSW in particular will soon introduce a suite 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, despite the inherent challenges of aligning state and federal governments.

These measures are only possible provided that the nation works together. As noted, when it comes to gun control, the country is dependent on its least stringent jurisdiction. This is the very nature of the Australian system – regulations in one state are easily circumvented if they can be avoided with a short drive across a border.

Addressing Frequent Objections

There is the inevitable response that "guns don't kill people, individuals are". This is true in the same sense that planes don't transport people, aviators do. Yes, planes can't fly themselves, but it would be quite challenging for a captain to move 500 people overseas without the aircraft. The horrific violence seen at Bondi would be all but impossible without guns, and would have been significantly less lethal if the alleged terrorists had been denied access to the weapons they used.

Weighing Need and Safety

It is acknowledged there are legitimate reasons for some Australians to possess firearms. Managing livestock or controlling vermin in many places is incredibly hard 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 ensure that gun laws are modernized 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 taken a toll and the nation is less secure as it once was. It is critical to take the lessons of Bondi seriously, and ensure that future generations are as protected as past generations have been.

A friend remarked after the Bondi attack, "things like this just don't happen here". This is true, but only because the country has collectively worked to keep itself safe. However horrific as the incident was, there is an aspiration that it can serve as the final tragedy the nation ever sees.