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In the aftermath of the awful attack at Bondi, Australia is confronting several pressing reckonings. We are seeing a long-overdue national spotlight on antisemitism, an ongoing concern about national security, and questions about how such an event could occur. But, from the perspective of a public health expert and Australian Jew, the paramount discussion we are finally having centers on firearms.

A Decade of Warnings and a Proven Response

Health specialists have been sounding alarms about firearms 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 nationwide. And it worked. Before 1996, the nation witnessed approximately one large-scale firearm incident per year. Over the following years, there have been vanishingly few significant tragedies, with none approaching the death toll of the incidents in the 1980s and 1990s.

This Recent Tragedy and the Function of Current Regulations

Amidst the Bondi tragedy, the nation's gun laws were partially effective. Reports indicate the individuals involved possessed with manually-operated long guns and at least one straight-pull shotgun. These firearms are limited to firing a single bullet at a time, necessitating a manual operation to chamber the subsequent shot. Although these guns can be fired quite quickly with devastating effect, they remain far slower and more cumbersome than the high-capacity, semi-automatic rifles commonplace in international attacks. The number of deaths at Bondi would've been far higher if different weapons had been accessible.

Stopping another Bondi requires national cohesion. Regrettably, there are already fissures in the united front.

A System Under Strain

However, the horrific toll of the attack reveals that current firearm regulations are failing. Designed in the late 1990s with the best of intentions, decades have eroded their effectiveness. Concerningly, 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.

The nation has grown overconfident and it has exacted a terrible price.

The Path Forward: Proposed Reforms

Since the Bondi tragedy, there have been multiple declarations regarding new firearm legislation. New South Wales specifically will soon enact a package of measures to mitigate the public danger posed by firearms. The national government has proposed a new gun buyback, and there is potential for a national firearms registry, despite the inherent challenges of coordinating state and federal jurisdictions.

These measures are feasible provided that the nation works together. As stated, regarding firearm laws, the country is only as strong as its weakest link. This is the reality of the Australian federation – regulations in one state are much less meaningful if they can be avoided with a short drive across a border.

Addressing Frequent Arguments

There is the predictable response that "guns don't kill people, people kill people". This is accurate in the same sense that planes don't transport people, pilots do. Yes, aircraft require operators, but it would be virtually impossible for a captain to transport 500 people internationally without the plane. The horrific violence seen at Bondi would be all but impossible without firearms, and would have been far less damaging if the alleged terrorists had not had access to the weapons they possessed.

Weighing Need and Safety

It is acknowledged there are valid reasons for some Australians to possess 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 essential tools.

What we can do – the imperative action – is to ensure that firearm legislation are modernized to better match the world we live in today. Australia's legislation have long been the admiration of the world, but the passage of years has done its work and the nation is less secure as it once was. It is critical to take the lessons of Bondi seriously, and make certain that coming Australians are equally safe as past generations have been.

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