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Following the tragedy of the awful attack at Bondi, Australia is confronting several pressing conversations. We are seeing a much-needed national spotlight on anti-Jewish sentiment, an persistent worry about national security, and questions about how such an tragedy could occur. However, as viewed of a health professional and Australian Jew, the paramount discussion we are finally having revolves around firearms.

Ten Years of Warnings and a Successful Response

Public health experts 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 implemented a suite of measures to reduce gun violence across the country. And it worked. Before 1996, the nation experienced roughly one large-scale firearm incident per year. In the decades since, there have been vanishingly few significant tragedies, with none approaching the fatalities of the incidents in the 1980s and 1990s.

This Recent Tragedy and the Role of Existing Regulations

Amidst the Bondi tragedy, the nation's firearm regulations were not entirely useless. Reports indicate the individuals involved might have been armed with manually-operated long guns and a straight-pull shotgun. These firearms can only fire a one round at a time, requiring a physical action to chamber the next round. Although these guns are capable of being discharged rapidly with lethal results, they remain significantly less rapid and less efficient than the high-capacity, self-loading rifles commonplace in international attacks. The number of deaths at Bondi could have been much greater if more advanced firearms had been available.

Stopping a future Bondi requires national cohesion. Regrettably, we have already seen fissures in the united front.

A System Showing Weakness

However, the horrific consequences of the incident demonstrates that current gun laws 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 shooting, with some citizens in urban areas owning collections of hundreds of weapons.

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

The Road Ahead: Announced Reforms

Since the Bondi tragedy, there have been multiple announcements regarding strengthened firearm legislation. The state of NSW in particular will soon introduce a package of reforms to mitigate the public danger from firearms. The federal government has proposed a fresh 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 provided that 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 system – regulations in one state are much less meaningful if they can be avoided with a short drive across a state line.

Countering Frequent Arguments

We hear the inevitable argument that "firearms are not the killers, people kill people". This is true in the same sense that aircraft do not fly passengers, pilots do. Certainly, planes can't fly themselves, but it would be virtually impossible for a captain to move 500 people overseas without the aircraft. The horrific violence witnessed at Bondi would be extremely difficult without firearms, and would have been significantly less lethal if the accused individuals had not had access to the firearms they possessed.

Balancing Necessity and Security

It is acknowledged there are legitimate reasons for some Australians to possess guns. Farm work or controlling vermin in rural areas is incredibly hard without them. A complete removal of guns from the country is impractical, as in certain contexts they are essential tools.

The achievable goal – the imperative action – is to ensure that gun laws are modernized to accurately reflect the world we live in today. Australia's laws have historically been the envy of the world, but the passage of years has done its work and the nation is less secure as it previously was. It is critical to learn from the tragedy of Bondi to heart, and ensure that coming Australians are equally safe as previous generations have been.

A commentator observed after the Bondi attack, "such tragedies just don't happen here". They don't, but solely due to the fact that the country has collectively worked to keep itself safe. However horrific as the attack was, there is hope that it can become the last one the nation experiences.