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Following the tragedy of the awful incident at Bondi, Australia is confronting several critical conversations. We are seeing a long-overdue national focus on anti-Jewish sentiment, an persistent worry about public safety, and questions about how such an event could happen. But, as viewed of a health professional and Australian Jew, the most important dialogue we are finally having centers on firearms.

A Decade of Warnings and a Proven Response

Health experts have been sounding alarms about guns for at least a decade. In the wake of the Port Arthur massacre, Australians united and enacted a series of reforms to reduce gun violence across the country. The strategy succeeded. Prior to 1996, the nation experienced roughly one mass shooting per year. Over the following years, there have been vanishingly few major events, with none reaching the death toll of the shootings in the 1980s and 1990s.

This Recent Attack and the Function of Current Regulations

Amidst the Bondi events, the nation's gun laws were partially effective. It has been suggested the individuals involved might have been armed with manually-operated long guns and at least one straight-pull shotgun. These firearms can only fire a one round at a time, requiring a manual operation to chamber the next round. Although these guns can be fired quite quickly with lethal results, they remain far slower and more cumbersome than the high-capacity, self-loading rifles frequently used in overseas attacks. The casualty count at Bondi would've been far higher if different weapons had been available.

Preventing a future Bondi requires national cohesion. And unfortunately, there are already cracks in the facade.

A System Under Strain

Yet, the horrific consequences of the incident demonstrates that existing firearm regulations are failing. Crafted in the late 1990s with the best of intentions, years have worn away their efficacy. Concerningly, there are now more firearms in Australia than before the Port Arthur massacre, with some individuals in urban areas owning collections numbering in the hundreds.

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

The Road Forward: Announced Reforms

In the time after the Bondi tragedy, there have been numerous declarations regarding new gun laws. The state of NSW in particular will soon introduce a suite of measures to reduce the public danger from firearms. The national government has proposed a new firearm surrender scheme, and there is hope for a national firearms registry, notwithstanding the inherent challenges of coordinating state and federal jurisdictions.

These measures are feasible if the nation acts in unison. As noted, when it comes to gun control, the country is only as strong as its least stringent jurisdiction. This is the very nature of the Australian federation – laws in one state are much less meaningful if they can be avoided with a short drive across a state line.

Addressing Common Objections

We hear the inevitable argument that "guns don't kill people, individuals are". This is true in the identical way that planes don't transport people, pilots do. Certainly, aircraft require operators, but it would be quite challenging for a pilot to move 500 people internationally without the plane. The mass slaughter witnessed at Bondi would be extremely difficult without guns, and would have been far less damaging if the alleged terrorists had not had access to the weapons they possessed.

Balancing Need and Safety

There are legitimate reasons for some Australians to own firearms. Farm work or culling pests in many places is extremely difficult without them. A total ban of firearms from the country is not feasible, as in certain contexts they are essential tools.

The achievable goal – what we must do – is to guarantee that gun laws are updated to better match the society 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 learn from the tragedy of Bondi to heart, and make certain that coming Australians are equally safe as previous generations have been.

As one friend 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 maintain its security. As nightmarish as the incident was, there is hope that it can become the last one the nation ever sees.