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Following the tragedy of the awful attack at Bondi, Australia is facing multiple critical reckonings. We are seeing a long-overdue national focus on antisemitism, an persistent worry about public safety, and questions about how such an tragedy could occur. But, from the perspective of a public health expert and Jewish Australian, the most important discussion we are now having centers on firearms.

A Decade of Cautions and a Proven Solution

Health experts have been sounding alarms about guns for a minimum of a decade. Following the events of the Port Arthur massacre, Australians united and implemented a suite of measures to reduce gun violence nationwide. And it worked. Before 1996, the nation experienced approximately one large-scale firearm incident per year. In the decades since, there have been vanishingly few significant tragedies, with none reaching the fatalities of the shootings in the 1980s and 1990s.

The Bondi Attack and the Role of Existing Laws

Amidst the Bondi tragedy, the nation's firearm regulations were not entirely useless. Reports indicate the alleged attackers possessed with manually-operated long guns and a straight-pull shotgun. These firearms are limited to firing a one round at a time, necessitating a physical action to chamber the next round. While these guns are capable of being discharged quite quickly with lethal results, they remain significantly less rapid and more cumbersome than the large-magazine, semi-automatic rifles frequently used in overseas attacks. The casualty count at Bondi would've been far higher if more advanced firearms had been available.

Stopping a future Bondi requires national cohesion. Regrettably, we have already seen cracks in the facade.

Legislation Showing Weakness

However, the terrible consequences of the incident reveals that current gun laws are failing. Crafted in the late 1990s with the best of intentions, decades have eroded their efficacy. Alarmingly, there are currently more firearms in Australia than before the Port Arthur shooting, with some individuals in cities reportedly holding arsenals numbering in the hundreds.

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

The Path Ahead: Proposed Reforms

Since the Bondi tragedy, there have been numerous announcements regarding strengthened gun laws. The state of NSW specifically will soon introduce a suite of reforms to reduce the public danger from firearms. The national government has announced a new gun buyback, and there is potential for a countrywide gun database, notwithstanding the inherent challenges of coordinating state and federal governments.

All of this are only possible provided that the nation works together. As noted, regarding gun control, the country is only as strong as its weakest link. This is the reality of the Australian federation – regulations in one state are easily circumvented if they can be bypassed with a journey across a state line.

Countering Common Arguments

There is the inevitable response that "guns don't kill people, individuals are". This is accurate in the same sense that planes don't transport people, aviators do. Certainly, planes can't fly themselves, but it would be virtually impossible for a pilot to transport 500 people internationally without the plane. The horrific violence seen at Bondi would be extremely difficult without guns, and would have been far less damaging if the alleged terrorists had not had access to the weapons they possessed.

Weighing Need and Security

There are valid reasons for some Australians to own guns. Farm work or culling pests in rural areas is incredibly hard without them. A total ban of firearms from the country is impractical, as in certain contexts they are essential tools.

The achievable goal – what we must do – is to ensure that gun laws are modernized to accurately reflect the society we live in today. Australia's laws have historically 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 learn from the tragedy of Bondi seriously, and make certain that future generations are equally safe as previous generations have been.

A commentator remarked after the Bondi events, "such tragedies just don't happen here". They don't, but only because the country has collectively worked to maintain its security. As nightmarish as the incident was, there is hope that it can become the last one the nation ever sees.