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Following the tragedy of the horrific incident at Bondi, Australia is facing several pressing conversations. There is a much-needed national focus on anti-Jewish sentiment, an persistent worry about public safety, and questions about how such an tragedy could occur. But, from the perspective of a health professional and Australian Jew, the paramount dialogue we are finally having revolves around firearms.

Ten Years of Warnings and a Successful Solution

Public health experts have been sounding alarms about guns for at least a decade. In the wake of the Port Arthur tragedy, Australians united and enacted a series of reforms to reduce gun violence nationwide. The strategy succeeded. Before 1996, the nation experienced roughly one mass shooting per year. Over the following years, there have been extremely rare major events, with none approaching the fatalities of the shootings in the 1980s and 1990s.

This Recent Tragedy and the Function of Current Regulations

Even during the Bondi tragedy, the nation's gun laws were not entirely useless. Reports indicate the alleged attackers might have been armed with bolt-action rifles and at least one straight-pull shotgun. These weapons can only fire a single bullet at a time, requiring a manual operation to ready the next round. Although these guns can be fired quite quickly with lethal results, they remain far slower and more cumbersome than the large-magazine, self-loading rifles frequently used in overseas mass shootings. The casualty count at Bondi could have been much greater if different weapons had been available.

Preventing another Bondi requires national cohesion. Regrettably, we have already seen cracks in the facade.

A System Showing Weakness

However, the horrific consequences of the incident reveals that existing gun laws are inadequate. Crafted in the late 1990s with the noblest aims, decades have eroded their efficacy. Concerningly, there are currently a greater number of guns in Australia than before the Port Arthur massacre, with some citizens in cities reportedly holding arsenals of hundreds of weapons.

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

The Path Forward: Announced Changes

Since the Bondi attack, there have been numerous announcements regarding strengthened gun laws. The state of NSW specifically will shortly introduce a suite of reforms to mitigate the public danger posed by firearms. The national government has proposed a fresh gun buyback, and there is hope for a countrywide gun database, notwithstanding the inherent challenges of aligning state and federal jurisdictions.

All of this are feasible provided that the nation works together. As stated, when it comes to gun control, the country is only as strong as its least stringent jurisdiction. This is the very nature of the Australian federation – laws in one state are easily circumvented if they can be avoided with a journey across a border.

Addressing Common Arguments

There is the predictable response that "firearms are not the killers, individuals are". This is accurate in the identical way that aircraft do not fly passengers, aviators do. Yes, aircraft require operators, but it would be virtually impossible for a pilot to transport 500 people overseas without the aircraft. The mass slaughter witnessed at Bondi would be all but impossible without guns, and would have been significantly less lethal if the alleged terrorists had been denied access to the weapons they used.

Weighing Necessity and Security

It is acknowledged there are valid reasons for some Australians to possess firearms. Farm work or controlling vermin in rural areas is incredibly hard without them. A total ban of guns from the country is impractical, as in certain contexts they are essential tools.

What we can do – what we must do – is to ensure that firearm legislation are updated to accurately reflect the society we live in today. Australia's laws have historically been the envy of the world, but time and distance has taken a toll and the nation is no longer as safe as it once was. It is critical to learn from the tragedy of Bondi to heart, and make certain that future generations are equally safe as previous generations have been.

As one friend remarked after the Bondi attack, "such tragedies just don't happen here". They don't, but only because the country has collectively worked to maintain its security. However horrific as the attack was, there is an aspiration that it can serve as the last one the nation experiences.