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Following the tragedy of the horrific attack at Bondi, Australia is confronting several critical reckonings. There is a much-needed national focus on anti-Jewish sentiment, an persistent worry about national security, and questions about how such an tragedy could happen. However, as viewed of a public health expert and Jewish Australian, the most important dialogue we are finally having centers on firearms.

Ten Years of Warnings and a Successful Solution

Public health experts have been issuing warnings about firearms for at least a decade. Following the events 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 roughly one large-scale firearm incident per year. In the decades since, there have been vanishingly few significant tragedies, with none reaching the fatalities of the shootings in the 1980s and 1990s.

The Bondi Tragedy and the Function of Current Laws

Even during the Bondi events, the nation's gun laws were not entirely useless. It has been suggested the alleged attackers might have been armed with manually-operated long guns and at least one straight-pull shotgun. These firearms can only fire a single bullet at a time, necessitating a physical action to chamber the next round. Although these guns are capable of being discharged quite quickly with lethal results, they remain far slower and more cumbersome than the large-magazine, semi-automatic rifles commonplace in international attacks. The casualty count at Bondi would've been far higher if different weapons had been accessible.

Preventing a future Bondi demands unity across all states. And unfortunately, we have already seen fissures in the united front.

Legislation Under Strain

However, the terrible toll of the attack reveals that current gun laws are inadequate. Designed in the late 1990s with the noblest aims, years have worn away their efficacy. Concerningly, there are now more firearms in Australia than prior to the Port Arthur massacre, with some citizens in cities owning arsenals of hundreds of weapons.

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

The Road Forward: Proposed Reforms

Since the Bondi tragedy, there have been numerous declarations regarding strengthened firearm legislation. The state of NSW specifically will shortly introduce a package of reforms to reduce the public danger from firearms. The national government has announced a fresh gun buyback, and there is hope for a countrywide gun database, notwithstanding the complexities of coordinating state and federal governments.

All of this are only possible if the nation works together. As noted, when it comes to gun control, the country is dependent on its weakest link. 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 Frequent Arguments

There is the predictable argument that "guns don't kill people, people kill people". This is true in the identical way that planes don't transport people, 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 seen at Bondi would be all but impossible without guns, and would have been far less damaging if the accused individuals had not had access to the weapons they used.

Weighing Need and Safety

There are valid needs for some Australians to possess firearms. Managing livestock or culling pests in rural areas is extremely difficult 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 gun laws are modernized to accurately reflect the society we live in today. Australia's legislation have historically been the admiration of the world, but the passage of years has done its work and the nation is no longer as safe as it once was. It is critical to learn from the tragedy of Bondi to heart, and ensure that coming Australians are equally safe as previous generations have been.

As one friend remarked after the Bondi events, "such tragedies just don't happen here". They don't, but solely due to the fact that the country has made concerted efforts to keep itself safe. However horrific as the attack was, there is hope that it can serve as the last one the nation experiences.