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Following the tragedy of the awful attack at Bondi, Australia is confronting multiple critical reckonings. There is a long-overdue national focus on anti-Jewish sentiment, an persistent concern about national security, and questions about the way such an tragedy could happen. However, from the perspective of a public health expert and Jewish Australian, the paramount discussion we are finally having revolves around firearms.

A Decade of Cautions and a Proven Response

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 reforms to curb gun violence across the country. The strategy succeeded. Before 1996, the nation witnessed roughly one mass shooting per year. In the decades since, there have been vanishingly few major events, with none approaching the death toll of the shootings in the 1980s and 1990s.

This Recent Tragedy and the Function of Existing Regulations

Amidst the Bondi events, the nation's gun laws were not entirely useless. Reports indicate the individuals involved possessed with manually-operated long guns and a straight-pull shotgun. These weapons can only fire a one round at a time, requiring a manual operation to chamber the next round. While these guns are capable of being discharged rapidly with devastating effect, they remain far slower and more cumbersome than the high-capacity, semi-automatic rifles commonplace in international attacks. The casualty count at Bondi would've been far higher if different firearms had been accessible.

Preventing another Bondi demands national cohesion. Regrettably, we have already seen cracks in the facade.

Legislation Showing Weakness

However, the horrific toll of the incident reveals that existing gun laws are failing. Designed in the late 1990s with the noblest aims, years have worn away their effectiveness. Alarmingly, there are now a greater number of guns in Australia than before the Port Arthur shooting, with some citizens in cities owning collections numbering in the hundreds.

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

The Road Forward: Announced Changes

Since the Bondi tragedy, there have been numerous declarations regarding new firearm legislation. The state of NSW specifically will soon introduce a package of measures to mitigate the collective risk from firearms. The federal government has announced a fresh firearm surrender scheme, and there is hope for a national firearms registry, despite the complexities of coordinating state and federal jurisdictions.

All of this are feasible provided that the nation works together. As noted, regarding gun control, the country is dependent on its least stringent jurisdiction. This is the reality of the Australian federation – regulations in one state are much less meaningful if they can be bypassed with a short drive across a border.

Countering Frequent Arguments

There is the predictable response that "guns don't kill people, people kill people". This is accurate in the identical way that planes don't transport people, pilots do. Yes, planes can't fly themselves, but it would be virtually impossible for a captain to transport 500 people overseas without the plane. The mass slaughter witnessed at Bondi would be all but impossible without guns, and would have been far less damaging if the alleged terrorists had not had access to the weapons they possessed.

Weighing Necessity and Safety

It is acknowledged there are valid reasons for some Australians to own firearms. Farm work or controlling vermin in rural areas is extremely difficult without them. A total ban of firearms from the country is not feasible, as in some cases they are essential tools.

What we can do – the imperative action – is to guarantee that firearm legislation are modernized to accurately reflect the society we live in today. Australia's legislation have long been the envy of the world, but time and distance has done its work and the nation is less secure as it previously was. It is vital to learn from the tragedy of Bondi seriously, and ensure that coming Australians are equally safe as past generations have been.

As one commentator observed after the Bondi attack, "such tragedies just don't happen here". This is true, but solely due to the fact that 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 ever sees.