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In the aftermath of the awful attack at Bondi, Australia is confronting several pressing reckonings. There is a long-overdue national spotlight on anti-Jewish sentiment, an persistent worry about national security, and questions about the way such an tragedy could occur. However, as viewed of a health professional and Australian Jew, the most important discussion we are finally having revolves around firearms.

A Decade of Warnings and a Proven Response

Public health experts have been sounding alarms about guns for at least a decade. In the wake of the Port Arthur massacre, Australians came together and enacted a suite of measures to curb gun violence nationwide. The strategy succeeded. Prior to 1996, the nation experienced approximately one mass shooting per year. Over the following years, there have been extremely rare significant tragedies, with none approaching the death toll of the incidents in the 1980s and 1990s.

The Bondi Tragedy and the Function of Current Laws

Amidst the Bondi events, the nation's gun laws were partially effective. It has been suggested the individuals involved possessed with bolt-action rifles and a straight-pull shotgun. These weapons can only fire a single bullet at a time, necessitating a manual operation to chamber the subsequent shot. Although these guns are capable of being discharged rapidly with devastating effect, they remain significantly less rapid and more cumbersome than the large-magazine, semi-automatic rifles commonplace in international mass shootings. The number of deaths at Bondi could have been much greater if more advanced weapons had been accessible.

Preventing a future Bondi demands national cohesion. And unfortunately, there are already fissures in the facade.

Legislation Under Strain

Yet, the terrible consequences of the incident reveals that current firearm regulations are failing. Crafted in the late 1990s with the best of intentions, years have worn away their efficacy. Alarmingly, there are currently a greater number of guns in Australia than before the Port Arthur shooting, with some citizens in cities owning collections numbering in the hundreds.

We have been complacent and it has cost us terribly.

The Road Ahead: Proposed Reforms

Since the Bondi tragedy, there have been multiple declarations regarding new gun laws. The state of NSW specifically will soon introduce a package of measures to mitigate the public danger posed by firearms. The national government has announced a fresh firearm surrender scheme, and there is hope for a countrywide gun database, despite the complexities of coordinating state and federal governments.

All of this are feasible provided that the nation works together. As noted, when it comes to gun control, the country is dependent on its weakest link. This is the very nature of the Australian system – laws in one state are much less meaningful if they can be avoided with a journey across a border.

Countering Common Arguments

We hear the predictable argument that "guns don't kill people, people kill people". This is accurate in the identical way that planes don't transport people, aviators do. Yes, aircraft require operators, but it would be virtually impossible for a captain to transport 500 people internationally without the plane. The mass slaughter witnessed at Bondi would be all but impossible without guns, and would have been significantly less lethal if the accused individuals had been denied access to the weapons they used.

Balancing Necessity and Security

There are legitimate needs for some Australians to possess guns. Managing livestock or culling pests in many places is incredibly hard without them. A complete removal of firearms from the country is impractical, as in certain contexts they are essential tools.

The achievable goal – what we must do – is to guarantee that firearm legislation are updated to better match the world we live in today. Australia's laws have long 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 take the lessons of Bondi seriously, and make certain that coming Australians are as protected as past generations have been.

As one commentator remarked after the Bondi events, "things like this just don't happen here". They don't, but solely due to the fact that the country has collectively worked to keep itself safe. As nightmarish as the attack was, there is an aspiration that it can become the final tragedy the nation ever sees.