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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 antisemitism, an ongoing worry about national security, and inquiries about how such an tragedy could happen. However, from the perspective of a public health expert and Australian Jew, the paramount dialogue we are finally having centers on firearms.

Ten Years of Warnings and a Proven Response

Public health specialists have been issuing warnings about guns for a minimum of a ten-year period. Following the events of the Port Arthur massacre, Australians came together and enacted a suite of reforms 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 extremely rare major events, with none approaching the fatalities 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 gun laws were not entirely useless. It has been suggested the individuals involved might have been armed with bolt-action rifles and a straight-pull shotgun. These weapons are limited to firing a single bullet at a time, requiring a manual operation to chamber the subsequent shot. While these guns can be fired quite quickly with devastating effect, they remain significantly less rapid and less efficient than the high-capacity, self-loading rifles frequently used in international attacks. The casualty count at Bondi would've been far higher if more advanced weapons had been accessible.

Preventing another Bondi requires unity across all states. Regrettably, we have already seen fissures in the facade.

A System Showing Weakness

However, the horrific consequences of the attack demonstrates that current gun laws are failing. Crafted in the late 1990s with the noblest aims, decades have eroded their efficacy. Concerningly, there are currently more firearms in Australia than prior to the Port Arthur shooting, with some individuals in urban areas reportedly holding arsenals numbering in the hundreds.

We have been overconfident and it has exacted a terrible price.

The Road Ahead: Proposed Reforms

In the time after the Bondi attack, there have been numerous announcements regarding strengthened gun laws. New South Wales in particular will soon enact a suite of reforms to reduce the collective risk from firearms. The national government has announced a new firearm surrender scheme, and there is hope for a countrywide gun database, notwithstanding the inherent challenges of coordinating state and federal jurisdictions.

These measures are feasible if the nation works together. As noted, regarding firearm laws, the country is only as strong as its weakest link. This is the very nature of the Australian system – regulations in one state are much less meaningful if they can be bypassed with a short drive across a state line.

Countering Common Arguments

There is the inevitable response that "firearms are not the killers, individuals are". This is true in the same sense that aircraft do not fly passengers, pilots do. Yes, aircraft require operators, but it would be quite challenging for a captain to move 500 people internationally without the aircraft. The mass slaughter seen at Bondi would be extremely difficult without firearms, and would have been significantly less lethal if the alleged terrorists had not had access to the weapons they used.

Balancing Need and Security

There are valid reasons for some Australians to own firearms. Farm work or controlling vermin in many places is extremely difficult without them. A total ban of guns from the country is impractical, as in some cases they are indispensable.

The achievable goal – what we must do – is to guarantee that firearm legislation are modernized to accurately reflect the world we live in today. Australia's laws have historically been the admiration of the world, but time and distance has taken a toll and the nation is no longer as safe as it previously was. It is critical to take the lessons of Bondi to heart, and make certain that coming Australians are as protected as previous generations have been.

A commentator observed after the Bondi events, "such tragedies just don't happen here". This is true, but solely due to the fact that the country has collectively worked to maintain its security. As nightmarish as the attack was, there is hope that it can become the last one the nation ever sees.