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Following the tragedy of the horrific incident at Bondi, Australia is confronting several critical reckonings. We are seeing a long-overdue national spotlight on anti-Jewish sentiment, an persistent concern about national security, and questions about the way such an tragedy could happen. However, as viewed of a health professional and Jewish Australian, the most important dialogue we are finally having centers on firearms.

A Decade of Warnings and a Proven Solution

Health specialists have been sounding alarms about guns for at least a decade. In the wake of the Port Arthur massacre, Australians united and implemented a series of measures to reduce gun violence across the country. And it worked. Prior to 1996, the nation experienced approximately one mass shooting per year. In the decades since, there have been vanishingly few major events, with none approaching the death toll of the incidents in the 1980s and 1990s.

This Recent Attack and the Role of Current Laws

Even during the Bondi tragedy, the nation's firearm regulations were not entirely useless. Reports indicate the alleged attackers 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, necessitating a manual operation to ready the subsequent shot. While these guns are capable of being discharged quite quickly with lethal results, they remain far slower and more cumbersome than the large-magazine, semi-automatic rifles commonplace in overseas attacks. The casualty count at Bondi could have been much greater if different firearms had been available.

Stopping another Bondi requires national cohesion. Regrettably, we have already seen fissures in the facade.

Legislation Showing Weakness

However, the horrific consequences of the attack reveals that existing gun laws are inadequate. Crafted in the late 1990s with the noblest aims, decades have worn away their effectiveness. Concerningly, there are currently more firearms in Australia than prior to the Port Arthur shooting, with some individuals in cities reportedly holding collections numbering in the hundreds.

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

The Road Forward: Proposed Changes

Since the Bondi attack, there have been numerous declarations regarding strengthened firearm legislation. New South Wales in particular will shortly introduce a package of reforms to mitigate the collective risk posed by firearms. The national government has proposed a fresh gun buyback, and there is potential for a national firearms registry, notwithstanding the inherent challenges of aligning state and federal jurisdictions.

These measures are only possible 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 – laws in one state are easily circumvented if they can be avoided with a journey across a state line.

Countering Frequent Arguments

We hear the predictable response that "guns don't kill people, people kill people". This is true in the identical way that planes don't transport people, aviators do. Certainly, aircraft require operators, but it would be virtually impossible for a pilot to transport 500 people internationally without the aircraft. The mass slaughter witnessed at Bondi would be all but impossible without firearms, and would have been far less damaging if the alleged terrorists had been denied access to the firearms they used.

Weighing Necessity and Security

There are legitimate reasons for some Australians to possess guns. Farm work or controlling vermin in rural areas is extremely difficult without them. A total ban of guns from the country is not feasible, as in certain contexts they are essential tools.

What we can do – the imperative action – is to ensure that gun laws are modernized to better match the society we live in today. Australia's legislation have long been the admiration of the world, but the passage of years has taken a toll and the nation is less secure as it once was. It is vital to take the lessons of Bondi seriously, and make certain that coming Australians are equally safe as previous generations have been.

A friend remarked after the Bondi attack, "things like this 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 incident was, there is an aspiration that it can serve as the last one the nation experiences.