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Following the tragedy of the awful attack at Bondi, Australia is confronting multiple critical reckonings. We are seeing a long-overdue national focus on antisemitism, an ongoing concern about national security, and inquiries about the way such an tragedy could occur. But, as viewed of a health professional and Australian Jew, the most important dialogue we are finally having revolves around firearms.

Ten Years of Cautions and a Successful Response

Public health specialists have been issuing warnings about firearms for a minimum of a ten-year period. In the wake of the Port Arthur massacre, Australians united and implemented a series of reforms to curb gun violence nationwide. The strategy succeeded. Prior to 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 incidents in the 1980s and 1990s.

The Bondi Attack and the Function of Existing Laws

Amidst the Bondi tragedy, the nation's gun laws were not entirely useless. It has been suggested the alleged attackers possessed with bolt-action rifles and at least one straight-pull shotgun. These firearms are limited to firing a one round at a time, requiring a manual operation to ready the next round. Although these guns are capable of being discharged rapidly with devastating effect, they remain significantly less rapid and less efficient than the high-capacity, self-loading rifles frequently used in international mass shootings. The number of deaths at Bondi would've been far higher if different firearms had been available.

Preventing another Bondi requires unity across all states. Regrettably, we have already seen cracks in the united front.

A System Showing Weakness

Yet, the horrific toll of the incident reveals that existing firearm regulations are inadequate. Designed in the late 1990s with the noblest aims, decades have eroded their efficacy. Alarmingly, there are now a greater number of guns in Australia than before the Port Arthur massacre, with some individuals in urban areas owning arsenals numbering in the hundreds.

We have been overconfident and it has cost us terribly.

The Path Forward: Proposed Changes

In the time after the Bondi attack, there have been multiple announcements regarding strengthened firearm legislation. The state of NSW specifically will shortly enact a package of reforms to reduce the collective risk from firearms. The national government has proposed a fresh firearm surrender scheme, and there is potential for a countrywide gun database, notwithstanding the inherent challenges of coordinating state and federal jurisdictions.

These measures are feasible provided that the nation works together. As stated, regarding firearm laws, the country is only as strong as its least stringent jurisdiction. This is the very nature of the Australian system – laws in one state are easily circumvented if they can be bypassed with a short drive across a state line.

Countering Common Arguments

There is the predictable argument that "guns don't kill people, individuals are". This is true in the identical way that aircraft do not fly passengers, aviators do. Certainly, planes can't fly themselves, but it would be virtually impossible for a captain to transport 500 people overseas without the plane. The mass slaughter witnessed at Bondi would be extremely difficult without guns, and would have been significantly less lethal if the accused individuals had been denied access to the weapons they possessed.

Weighing Necessity and Safety

There are legitimate needs for some Australians to own firearms. Managing livestock or culling pests in many places is incredibly hard without them. A total ban of guns from the country is impractical, as in certain contexts they are essential tools.

The achievable goal – what we must do – is to guarantee that gun laws are updated 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 critical to take the lessons of Bondi to heart, and ensure that coming Australians are as protected as previous generations have been.

A commentator observed after the Bondi events, "such tragedies 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 incident was, there is an aspiration that it can serve as the last one the nation experiences.