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Following the tragedy of the awful incident at Bondi, Australia is facing multiple critical conversations. There is a long-overdue national spotlight on anti-Jewish sentiment, an ongoing worry about public safety, and inquiries about the way such an tragedy could occur. However, from the perspective of a health professional and Jewish Australian, the paramount dialogue we are now having centers on firearms.

Ten Years of Cautions and a Proven Solution

Health specialists have been issuing warnings about firearms for at least a ten-year period. In the wake of the Port Arthur tragedy, Australians united and implemented a series of measures to curb gun violence across the country. And it worked. Prior to 1996, the nation witnessed approximately one large-scale firearm incident 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.

This Recent Attack and the Role of Current Laws

Amidst the Bondi events, the nation's gun laws were not entirely useless. It has been suggested the individuals involved might have been armed with bolt-action rifles and a straight-pull shotgun. These firearms are limited to firing a one round at a time, requiring a manual operation to ready the next round. While these guns are capable of being discharged rapidly with lethal results, they remain significantly less rapid and less efficient than the high-capacity, semi-automatic rifles commonplace in international attacks. The casualty count at Bondi could have been much greater if different firearms had been accessible.

Preventing another Bondi demands unity across all states. Regrettably, we have already seen fissures in the united front.

Legislation Showing Weakness

Yet, the terrible toll of the attack demonstrates that current gun laws are failing. Designed in the late 1990s with the best of intentions, decades have eroded their efficacy. Concerningly, there are now more firearms in Australia than prior to the Port Arthur shooting, with some citizens in urban areas reportedly holding collections numbering in the hundreds.

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

The Path Forward: Announced Reforms

Since the Bondi attack, there have been numerous declarations regarding new firearm legislation. The state of NSW in particular will shortly enact a suite of measures to reduce 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, notwithstanding the complexities of coordinating state and federal jurisdictions.

These measures are only possible provided that the nation acts in unison. As stated, when it comes to firearm laws, 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 bypassed with a short drive across a state line.

Countering Common Objections

We hear the inevitable argument that "firearms are not the killers, people kill people". This is true in the identical way that aircraft do not fly passengers, pilots do. Certainly, aircraft require operators, but it would be quite challenging for a pilot to transport 500 people overseas without the plane. The mass slaughter witnessed at Bondi would be extremely difficult without firearms, and would have been significantly less lethal if the alleged terrorists had been denied access to the weapons they used.

Balancing Need and Security

There are legitimate needs for some Australians to own guns. Farm work or controlling vermin in rural areas is incredibly hard without them. A complete removal of guns from the country is not feasible, as in certain contexts they are essential tools.

What we can do – the imperative action – is to guarantee that firearm legislation are modernized to better match the society we live in today. Australia's legislation have long been the envy of the world, but time and distance has done its work and the nation is less secure as it once was. It is critical to take the lessons of Bondi seriously, and make certain that future generations are as protected as past generations have been.

As one friend remarked after the Bondi attack, "such tragedies just don't happen here". This is true, but only because the country has made concerted efforts to maintain its security. As nightmarish as the incident was, there is hope that it can serve as the last one the nation experiences.