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In the aftermath of the horrific incident at Bondi, Australia is confronting several pressing reckonings. We are seeing a much-needed national spotlight on antisemitism, an ongoing worry about national security, and questions about how such an event could occur. However, as viewed of a health professional and Jewish Australian, the most important discussion we are now having centers on firearms.

A Decade of Warnings and a Proven Response

Public health experts have been sounding alarms about guns for a minimum of a decade. In the wake of the Port Arthur massacre, Australians came together and implemented a suite of reforms to curb gun violence across the country. The strategy succeeded. Before 1996, the nation experienced roughly one large-scale firearm incident per year. In the decades since, there have been extremely rare major events, with none reaching the fatalities of the incidents in the 1980s and 1990s.

This Recent Tragedy and the Role of Current Laws

Amidst the Bondi events, the nation's gun laws were not entirely useless. It has been suggested the alleged attackers might have been armed with bolt-action rifles and at least one straight-pull shotgun. These weapons are limited to firing a single bullet at a time, requiring a physical action to chamber the next round. While these guns can be fired rapidly 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 weapons had been accessible.

Stopping a future Bondi requires unity across all states. And unfortunately, we have already seen fissures in the united front.

A System Under Strain

However, the terrible toll of the incident demonstrates that existing gun laws are inadequate. Designed in the late 1990s with the noblest aims, decades have worn away their effectiveness. Alarmingly, there are now more firearms in Australia than before the Port Arthur massacre, with some individuals in urban areas reportedly holding arsenals of hundreds of weapons.

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

The Road Ahead: Announced Changes

Since the Bondi attack, there have been multiple announcements regarding new gun laws. New South Wales in particular will shortly introduce a package of measures to mitigate the collective risk posed by firearms. The national government has announced a new gun buyback, and there is hope for a national firearms registry, despite the complexities of aligning state and federal governments.

These measures are only possible provided that the nation works together. As stated, when it comes to gun control, the country is only as strong as its weakest link. This is the reality of the Australian system – regulations in one state are much less meaningful if they can be avoided with a short drive across a state line.

Addressing Common Objections

There is the inevitable response that "guns don't kill people, people kill people". This is true in the identical way that planes don't transport people, pilots do. Certainly, aircraft require operators, but it would be virtually impossible for a pilot to transport 500 people internationally without the aircraft. The mass slaughter witnessed at Bondi would be all but impossible without guns, and would have been far less damaging if the accused individuals had been denied access to the firearms they used.

Balancing Necessity and Safety

It is acknowledged there are valid needs for some Australians to possess firearms. Farm work or controlling vermin in rural areas is extremely difficult without them. A complete removal of guns from the country is not feasible, as in certain contexts they are indispensable.

What we can do – the imperative action – is to guarantee that gun laws are updated to better match the world 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 no longer as safe as it previously was. It is critical to take the lessons of Bondi seriously, and make certain that future generations are as protected as previous generations have been.

A commentator remarked after the Bondi attack, "things like this just don't happen here". They don't, but solely due to the fact that the country has collectively worked to maintain its security. As nightmarish as the incident was, there is an aspiration that it can become the last one the nation ever sees.