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Following the tragedy of the awful incident at Bondi, Australia is facing several pressing conversations. There is a long-overdue national focus on anti-Jewish sentiment, an persistent concern about public safety, and questions about how such an tragedy could happen. But, from the perspective of a health professional and Jewish Australian, the paramount discussion we are finally having revolves around firearms.

A Decade of Cautions and a Proven Solution

Public health specialists have been issuing warnings about firearms for at least a decade. Following the events of the Port Arthur tragedy, Australians united and implemented a series of reforms to curb gun violence nationwide. And it worked. Prior to 1996, the nation witnessed approximately one large-scale firearm incident per year. In the decades since, there have been extremely rare significant tragedies, with none approaching the death toll of the incidents in the 1980s and 1990s.

This Recent Attack and the Function of Existing Laws

Even during the Bondi tragedy, the nation's firearm regulations were not entirely useless. 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 subsequent shot. Although these guns can be fired quite quickly with devastating effect, they remain far slower and less efficient than the large-magazine, semi-automatic rifles commonplace in overseas attacks. The casualty count at Bondi could have been much greater if different weapons had been available.

Preventing another Bondi requires unity across all states. And unfortunately, there are already cracks in the united front.

Legislation Under Strain

However, the horrific toll of the attack demonstrates that existing firearm regulations are failing. Designed in the late 1990s with the best of intentions, decades have eroded their efficacy. Concerningly, there are now a greater number of guns in Australia than before the Port Arthur massacre, with some individuals in cities reportedly holding collections numbering in the hundreds.

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

The Road Forward: Proposed Reforms

In the time after the Bondi tragedy, there have been numerous declarations regarding strengthened firearm legislation. The state of NSW in particular will shortly enact a package of measures to reduce 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 inherent challenges of aligning state and federal jurisdictions.

All of this are feasible if the nation works together. As stated, regarding firearm laws, the country is only as strong as 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 short drive across a state line.

Countering Common Arguments

There is the inevitable argument 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 quite challenging for a pilot to move 500 people overseas without the aircraft. The horrific violence witnessed at Bondi would be extremely difficult without firearms, and would have been far less damaging if the accused individuals had been denied access to the weapons they used.

Balancing Need and Safety

There are valid reasons for some Australians to possess guns. Farm work or controlling vermin in many places is extremely difficult without them. A complete removal of guns from the country is not feasible, as in some cases they are essential tools.

What we can do – what we must do – is to guarantee that gun laws are modernized to better match the society we live in today. Australia's laws have long been the envy of the world, but time and distance has taken a toll and the nation is less secure as it previously was. It is critical to take the lessons of Bondi to heart, and make certain that future generations are as protected as past generations have been.

A friend remarked after the Bondi events, "things like this just don't happen here". This is true, but solely due to the fact that the country has collectively worked to keep itself safe. As nightmarish as the attack was, there is hope that it can become the final tragedy the nation experiences.