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In the aftermath of the awful attack at Bondi, Australia is facing several pressing conversations. There is a much-needed national focus on anti-Jewish sentiment, an persistent worry about national security, and inquiries about how such an tragedy could happen. But, as viewed of a public health expert and Australian Jew, the paramount dialogue we are now having revolves around firearms.

A Decade of Cautions and a Proven Response

Public health experts have been issuing warnings about guns for at least a ten-year period. Following the events of the Port Arthur tragedy, Australians came together and enacted a series of measures to reduce gun violence across the country. And it worked. Before 1996, the nation experienced approximately one mass shooting per year. In the decades since, there have been vanishingly few significant tragedies, with none approaching the fatalities of the shootings in the 1980s and 1990s.

The Bondi Attack and the Function of Existing Regulations

Amidst the Bondi events, the nation's firearm regulations were not entirely useless. It has been suggested the alleged attackers possessed with bolt-action rifles and a straight-pull shotgun. These firearms can only fire a one round at a time, requiring a manual operation to chamber the next round. While these guns can be fired rapidly with lethal results, they remain significantly less rapid and less efficient than the large-magazine, semi-automatic rifles frequently used in international attacks. The casualty count at Bondi would've been far higher if different firearms had been accessible.

Stopping a future Bondi demands unity across all states. And unfortunately, there are already fissures in the facade.

A System Under Strain

However, the terrible toll of the attack demonstrates that current firearm regulations are inadequate. Designed in the late 1990s with the best of intentions, decades have worn away their effectiveness. Alarmingly, there are now a greater number of guns in Australia than prior to the Port Arthur shooting, with some individuals in cities reportedly holding collections of hundreds of weapons.

We have been overconfident and it has cost us terribly.

The Road Forward: Announced Reforms

Since the Bondi attack, there have been numerous announcements regarding strengthened firearm legislation. New South Wales specifically will shortly enact a package of measures to mitigate the collective risk posed by firearms. The national government has proposed a fresh firearm surrender scheme, and there is potential for a countrywide gun database, despite the complexities of coordinating state and federal jurisdictions.

All of this are feasible if the nation acts in unison. As stated, regarding gun control, the country is dependent on its least stringent jurisdiction. This is the very nature of the Australian system – regulations in one state are much less meaningful if they can be bypassed with a short drive across a state line.

Addressing Common Arguments

There is 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, pilots do. Yes, aircraft require operators, but it would be quite challenging for a captain to move 500 people internationally without the plane. The mass slaughter seen at Bondi would be extremely difficult without firearms, and would have been far less damaging if the alleged terrorists had been denied access to the weapons they used.

Balancing Need and Safety

There are valid reasons for some Australians to possess firearms. Managing livestock or controlling vermin in rural areas is extremely difficult without them. A complete removal of firearms 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 gun laws are modernized to better match the society we live in today. Australia's laws have long been the admiration of the world, but the passage of years has taken a toll and the nation is less secure as it once was. It is vital to learn from the tragedy of Bondi seriously, and make certain that future generations are as protected as previous generations have been.

A commentator remarked after the Bondi events, "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 incident was, there is hope that it can serve as the final tragedy the nation experiences.