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In the aftermath of the awful incident at Bondi, Australia is confronting several pressing reckonings. There is a long-overdue national spotlight on anti-Jewish sentiment, an ongoing concern about public safety, and inquiries about the way such an event could occur. But, as viewed of a health professional and Australian Jew, the most important dialogue we are now having revolves around firearms.

A Decade of Cautions and a Proven Response

Health specialists have been sounding alarms about guns for a minimum of a decade. In the wake of the Port Arthur massacre, Australians united and enacted a series of measures to reduce gun violence across the country. And it worked. Prior to 1996, the nation witnessed approximately one mass shooting per year. Over the following years, there have been extremely rare major events, with none reaching the fatalities of the shootings in the 1980s and 1990s.

The Bondi Attack and the Function of Existing Laws

Even during the Bondi events, the nation's gun laws were not entirely useless. It has been suggested the alleged attackers possessed with bolt-action rifles and a straight-pull shotgun. These weapons are limited to firing a single bullet at a time, necessitating a physical action to chamber the next round. While these guns can be fired quite quickly with lethal results, they remain significantly less rapid and less efficient than the large-magazine, self-loading rifles commonplace in international mass shootings. The casualty count at Bondi would've been far higher if different firearms had been accessible.

Preventing a future Bondi demands unity across all states. And unfortunately, we have already seen cracks in the united front.

A System Under Strain

However, the horrific consequences of the incident demonstrates that existing firearm regulations are inadequate. Designed in the late 1990s with the best of intentions, years have eroded their efficacy. Concerningly, there are currently more firearms in Australia than prior to the Port Arthur shooting, with some citizens in cities reportedly holding collections of hundreds of weapons.

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

The Road Ahead: Proposed Changes

Since the Bondi attack, there have been multiple announcements regarding new firearm legislation. The state of NSW specifically will soon introduce a suite of measures to reduce the collective risk from firearms. The national government has proposed a new gun buyback, and there is potential for a countrywide gun database, despite the complexities of coordinating state and federal jurisdictions.

These measures are only possible provided that the nation works together. As stated, when it comes to firearm laws, the country is only as strong as its weakest link. This is the very nature of the Australian federation – laws in one state are easily circumvented if they can be bypassed with a short drive across a border.

Addressing Common Objections

There is the predictable response that "firearms are not the killers, people kill people". This is true in the identical way that aircraft do not fly passengers, aviators do. Certainly, planes can't fly themselves, but it would be virtually impossible for a captain to transport 500 people overseas without the plane. The horrific violence seen at Bondi would be all but impossible without firearms, and would have been significantly less lethal if the alleged terrorists had not had access to the weapons they used.

Weighing Necessity and Security

It is acknowledged there are legitimate needs for some Australians to possess guns. Managing livestock or culling pests in rural areas 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 ensure that firearm legislation are modernized to accurately reflect the world we live in today. Australia's laws have historically been the envy of the world, but the passage of years 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 ensure that coming Australians are as protected as past generations have been.

As one commentator observed after the Bondi events, "things like this just don't happen here". This is true, but only because the country has collectively worked to maintain its security. As nightmarish as the attack was, there is hope that it can serve as the last one the nation experiences.