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Following the tragedy of the horrific incident at Bondi, Australia is confronting multiple critical reckonings. There is a much-needed national focus on antisemitism, an persistent concern about national security, and questions about the way such an event could occur. But, from the perspective of a public health expert and Australian Jew, the paramount discussion we are now having centers on firearms.

A Decade of Cautions and a Successful Response

Health specialists have been issuing warnings about firearms for a minimum of a ten-year period. Following the events of the Port Arthur massacre, Australians came together and implemented a suite of reforms to curb gun violence across the country. The strategy succeeded. Prior to 1996, the nation witnessed approximately one mass shooting per year. In the decades since, there have been extremely rare major events, with none reaching the death toll of the incidents in the 1980s and 1990s.

The Bondi Attack and the Function of Existing Regulations

Amidst the Bondi tragedy, the nation's gun laws were not entirely useless. It has been suggested the alleged attackers possessed with manually-operated long guns and a straight-pull shotgun. These weapons can only fire a one round at a time, requiring a physical action to ready the next round. While these guns can be fired rapidly with devastating effect, they remain far slower and more cumbersome than the large-magazine, semi-automatic rifles frequently used in overseas mass shootings. The casualty count at Bondi could have been much greater if more advanced weapons had been available.

Preventing another Bondi requires national cohesion. And unfortunately, there are already fissures in the united front.

Legislation Under Strain

However, the horrific toll of the incident reveals that existing firearm regulations are failing. Designed in the late 1990s with the noblest aims, years have eroded their efficacy. Alarmingly, there are now more firearms in Australia than before the Port Arthur shooting, with some individuals in urban areas reportedly holding collections numbering in the hundreds.

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

The Road Ahead: Proposed Reforms

In the time after the Bondi tragedy, there have been numerous declarations regarding new firearm legislation. New South Wales in particular will soon enact a suite of measures to mitigate the public danger from firearms. The national government has proposed a new gun buyback, and there is potential for a national firearms registry, despite the inherent challenges of aligning state and federal jurisdictions.

These measures are feasible if the nation acts in unison. As noted, when it comes to gun control, the country is dependent on its weakest link. This is the reality of the Australian federation – regulations in one state are much less meaningful if they can be bypassed with a journey across a border.

Countering Frequent Arguments

We hear the inevitable argument that "firearms are not the killers, 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 quite challenging for a captain to transport 500 people internationally without the aircraft. The mass slaughter seen at Bondi would be all but impossible without firearms, and would have been significantly less lethal if the accused individuals had been denied access to the weapons they possessed.

Balancing Necessity and Security

There are legitimate reasons for some Australians to own guns. Managing livestock or culling pests in many places is extremely difficult without them. A complete removal of firearms from the country is impractical, as in some cases they are essential tools.

What we can do – what we must do – is to ensure that firearm legislation are updated to better match the world we live in today. Australia's legislation have historically been the admiration of the world, but time and distance has done its work and the nation is no longer as safe as it once was. It is vital to take the lessons of Bondi to heart, and make certain that coming Australians are as protected as past generations have been.

As one friend remarked after the Bondi attack, "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 incident was, there is an aspiration that it can serve as the last one the nation ever sees.