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Following the tragedy of the horrific incident at Bondi, Australia is confronting multiple pressing reckonings. We are seeing a long-overdue national focus 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 public health expert and Jewish Australian, the paramount dialogue we are now having revolves around firearms.

Ten Years of Warnings and a Proven Solution

Public health specialists have been sounding alarms about firearms for a minimum of a decade. Following the events of the Port Arthur tragedy, Australians united and enacted a series of reforms to reduce gun violence nationwide. And it worked. Before 1996, the nation witnessed approximately one mass shooting per year. In the decades since, there have been extremely rare major events, with none approaching the death toll of the incidents in the 1980s and 1990s.

This Recent Tragedy and the Role of Existing 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 a straight-pull shotgun. These firearms can only fire a one round at a time, requiring a manual operation to chamber the subsequent shot. Although these guns are capable of being discharged rapidly with lethal results, they remain far slower and more cumbersome than the high-capacity, self-loading rifles commonplace in international mass shootings. The number of deaths at Bondi would've been far higher if more advanced firearms had been available.

Stopping a future Bondi demands unity across all states. Regrettably, we have already seen fissures in the united front.

Legislation Showing Weakness

However, the terrible toll of the incident reveals that current firearm regulations are inadequate. Crafted in the late 1990s with the best of intentions, decades have worn away their efficacy. Concerningly, there are now a greater number of guns in Australia than before the Port Arthur massacre, with some individuals in urban areas reportedly holding collections of hundreds of weapons.

The nation has grown complacent and it has cost us terribly.

The Path Ahead: Proposed Reforms

Since the Bondi tragedy, there have been numerous declarations regarding strengthened firearm legislation. The state of NSW specifically will shortly enact a suite of reforms to mitigate the public danger from firearms. The national government has proposed a new firearm surrender scheme, and there is potential for a national firearms registry, despite the complexities of aligning state and federal governments.

These measures are feasible if the nation acts in unison. As noted, when it comes to gun control, the country is dependent on its weakest link. This is the reality of the Australian federation – regulations in one state are much less meaningful if they can be avoided with a journey across a border.

Countering Frequent Objections

We hear the inevitable response that "guns don't kill people, people kill people". This is true 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 move 500 people overseas without the plane. The horrific violence witnessed at Bondi would be all but impossible without firearms, and would have been significantly less lethal if the accused individuals had not had access to the firearms they used.

Balancing Need and Safety

It is acknowledged there are valid reasons for some Australians to own firearms. Managing livestock or culling pests in many places is incredibly hard without them. A complete removal of guns from the country is impractical, as in certain contexts they are indispensable.

The achievable goal – what we must do – is to guarantee that gun laws are modernized to accurately reflect the society 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 vital to take the lessons of Bondi seriously, and make certain that future generations are as protected as past generations have been.

As one friend observed after the Bondi attack, "things like this just don't happen here". They don't, but only because the country has collectively worked to maintain its security. As nightmarish as the attack was, there is an aspiration that it can serve as the last one the nation ever sees.