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Following the tragedy of the awful attack at Bondi, Australia is facing several pressing reckonings. There is a much-needed national spotlight on antisemitism, an persistent concern about public safety, and inquiries about how such an event could occur. However, as viewed of a public health expert and Jewish Australian, the paramount dialogue we are now having revolves around firearms.

A Decade of Cautions and a Successful Response

Health experts have been issuing warnings about guns for at least a ten-year period. Following the events of the Port Arthur tragedy, Australians united and implemented a suite of reforms to curb gun violence across the country. The strategy succeeded. Before 1996, the nation experienced roughly one mass shooting per year. In the decades since, there have been extremely rare major events, with none approaching the death toll of the shootings in the 1980s and 1990s.

The Bondi Attack and the Role of Current Regulations

Even during the Bondi tragedy, the nation's firearm regulations were partially effective. Reports indicate the individuals involved 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 subsequent shot. Although these guns are capable of being discharged quite quickly with lethal results, they remain far slower and less efficient than the large-magazine, self-loading rifles commonplace in international attacks. The number of deaths at Bondi would've been far higher if different weapons had been available.

Preventing a future Bondi demands unity across all states. Regrettably, there are already fissures in the united front.

Legislation Showing Weakness

However, the terrible consequences of the attack reveals that existing firearm regulations are inadequate. Designed in the late 1990s with the best of intentions, decades have eroded their effectiveness. Concerningly, there are currently more firearms in Australia than prior to the Port Arthur massacre, with some individuals in urban areas reportedly holding collections of hundreds of weapons.

We have been overconfident and it has cost us terribly.

The Road Ahead: Proposed Reforms

Since the Bondi attack, there have been numerous declarations regarding strengthened firearm legislation. The state of NSW in particular will soon enact a package of measures to mitigate the collective risk posed by firearms. The federal government has announced a fresh firearm surrender scheme, and there is hope for a countrywide gun database, notwithstanding the complexities of aligning state and federal jurisdictions.

These measures are only possible if the nation acts in unison. As noted, when it comes to gun control, the country is only as strong as its weakest link. This is the very nature of the Australian federation – regulations in one state are much less meaningful if they can be bypassed with a short drive across a state line.

Countering Common Objections

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

Balancing Need and Safety

There are valid needs for some Australians to possess guns. Farm work or controlling vermin in many places is incredibly hard without them. A total ban of firearms from the country is impractical, as in some cases they are indispensable.

The achievable goal – what we must do – is to ensure that firearm legislation are modernized to accurately reflect the world we live in today. Australia's laws 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 learn from the tragedy of Bondi seriously, and make certain that coming Australians are as protected as previous generations have been.

As one friend observed after the Bondi events, "things like this just don't happen here". This is true, but solely due to the fact that the country has collectively worked to keep itself safe. As nightmarish as the attack was, there is hope that it can become the final tragedy the nation experiences.