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Following the tragedy of the awful incident at Bondi, Australia is facing multiple pressing conversations. There is a long-overdue national spotlight on anti-Jewish sentiment, an persistent worry about national security, and inquiries about how such an tragedy could occur. But, from the perspective of a health professional and Jewish Australian, the paramount discussion we are finally having centers on firearms.

Ten Years of Warnings and a Proven Response

Health specialists have been sounding alarms about firearms for at least a ten-year period. In the wake of the Port Arthur massacre, Australians united and implemented a series of measures to reduce gun violence across the country. And it worked. Before 1996, the nation witnessed roughly one large-scale firearm incident per year. In the decades since, there have been extremely rare major events, with none reaching the death toll of the shootings in the 1980s and 1990s.

The Bondi Tragedy and the Function of Current Regulations

Even during the Bondi events, the nation's firearm regulations were not entirely useless. Reports indicate the alleged attackers might have been armed with manually-operated long guns and a straight-pull shotgun. These firearms can only fire a one round at a time, necessitating a manual operation to chamber the subsequent shot. While these guns can be fired quite quickly with devastating effect, they remain significantly less rapid and more cumbersome than the high-capacity, semi-automatic rifles commonplace in international attacks. The number of deaths at Bondi could have been much greater if more advanced weapons had been accessible.

Preventing a future Bondi demands unity across all states. And unfortunately, we have already seen cracks in the united front.

A System Under Strain

Yet, the horrific consequences of the incident reveals that existing firearm regulations are failing. Crafted in the late 1990s with the noblest aims, decades have worn away their efficacy. Concerningly, there are currently a greater number of guns in Australia than before the Port Arthur shooting, with some citizens in urban areas owning collections numbering in the hundreds.

The nation has grown complacent and it has exacted a terrible price.

The Path Ahead: Proposed Reforms

Since the Bondi attack, there have been numerous declarations regarding new gun laws. New South Wales specifically will shortly introduce a package of measures to reduce the public danger posed by firearms. The federal government has announced a fresh firearm surrender scheme, and there is hope for a countrywide gun database, despite the complexities of aligning state and federal jurisdictions.

These measures are feasible if the nation works together. As stated, regarding gun control, the country is dependent on its least stringent jurisdiction. This is the very nature of the Australian federation – regulations in one state are easily circumvented if they can be bypassed with a short drive across a border.

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, aircraft require operators, but it would be virtually impossible for a captain to move 500 people overseas without the aircraft. The mass slaughter witnessed at Bondi would be extremely difficult without guns, and would have been significantly less lethal if the accused individuals had not had access to the firearms they possessed.

Balancing Need and Safety

There are legitimate reasons for some Australians to own firearms. Farm work or culling pests in many places is extremely difficult without them. A complete removal of firearms from the country is not feasible, as in certain contexts they are indispensable.

The achievable goal – the imperative action – is to guarantee that gun laws are modernized to accurately reflect the world we live in today. Australia's laws have historically been the envy of the world, but the passage of years has done its work and the nation is less secure as it previously was. It is critical to take the lessons of Bondi seriously, and make certain that coming Australians are equally safe as previous generations have been.

As one commentator observed after the Bondi attack, "such tragedies just don't happen here". They don't, but solely due to the fact that the country has made concerted efforts to keep itself safe. However horrific as the attack was, there is hope that it can serve as the final tragedy the nation ever sees.