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Following the tragedy of the awful attack at Bondi, Australia is confronting several critical reckonings. There is a long-overdue national spotlight on antisemitism, an persistent concern about public safety, and questions about the way such an event could happen. But, as viewed of a health professional and Jewish Australian, the paramount discussion we are now having centers on firearms.

A Decade of Warnings and a Successful Response

Health experts have been sounding alarms about firearms for a minimum of a ten-year period. In the wake of the Port Arthur massacre, Australians united and enacted a series of measures to reduce gun violence nationwide. The strategy succeeded. Before 1996, the nation experienced approximately one large-scale firearm incident per year. In the decades since, there have been extremely rare major events, with none reaching the death toll of the incidents in the 1980s and 1990s.

The Bondi Attack and the Function of Existing Regulations

Amidst the Bondi tragedy, the nation's firearm regulations were not entirely useless. It has been suggested the individuals involved possessed with bolt-action rifles and a straight-pull shotgun. These weapons can only fire a one round at a time, necessitating a physical action to ready the subsequent shot. Although these guns can be fired quite quickly with devastating effect, they remain far slower and more cumbersome than the high-capacity, semi-automatic rifles frequently used in international attacks. The casualty count at Bondi would've been far higher if more advanced weapons had been available.

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

A System Under Strain

Yet, the terrible toll of the incident reveals that current gun laws are failing. Crafted in the late 1990s with the noblest aims, years have worn away their efficacy. Alarmingly, there are now a greater number of guns in Australia than prior to the Port Arthur shooting, with some citizens in urban areas owning collections numbering in the hundreds.

We have been overconfident and it has exacted a terrible price.

The Path Forward: Announced Reforms

In the time after the Bondi attack, there have been numerous announcements regarding strengthened gun laws. New South Wales specifically will shortly introduce a suite of measures to reduce the collective risk from firearms. The federal government has proposed a new gun buyback, and there is hope for a national firearms registry, despite the complexities of aligning state and federal governments.

All of this are feasible provided that the nation acts in unison. As stated, when it comes to firearm laws, the country is dependent on its weakest link. This is the reality of the Australian federation – regulations in one state are easily circumvented if they can be avoided with a short drive across a state line.

Addressing Frequent Objections

We hear the predictable response that "firearms are not the killers, people kill people". This is true in the identical way that aircraft do not fly passengers, pilots do. Yes, aircraft require operators, but it would be quite challenging for a captain to transport 500 people overseas without the plane. The mass slaughter seen at Bondi would be extremely difficult without firearms, and would have been significantly less lethal if the alleged terrorists had been denied access to the firearms they used.

Weighing Need and Safety

There are legitimate reasons for some Australians to possess firearms. Farm work or controlling vermin in many places is incredibly hard without them. A complete removal 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 guarantee that gun laws are modernized to better match the society we live in today. Australia's legislation 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 previously was. It is critical to learn from the tragedy of Bondi seriously, and ensure that future generations are equally safe as past generations have been.

A commentator remarked after the Bondi events, "things like this just don't happen here". They don't, but solely due to the fact that the country has made concerted efforts to maintain its security. However horrific as the attack was, there is an aspiration that it can serve as the last one the nation ever sees.