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Following the tragedy of the horrific incident at Bondi, Australia is confronting multiple critical reckonings. We are seeing a long-overdue national spotlight on anti-Jewish sentiment, an ongoing worry about public safety, and inquiries about how such an event could happen. However, as viewed of a public health expert and Australian Jew, the paramount discussion we are now having revolves around firearms.

Ten Years of Cautions and a Successful Solution

Health specialists have been issuing warnings about guns for a minimum of a ten-year period. In the wake of the Port Arthur massacre, Australians united and enacted a suite of reforms to curb gun violence across the country. And it worked. Prior to 1996, the nation witnessed roughly one large-scale firearm incident per year. In the decades since, there have been extremely rare significant tragedies, with none reaching the death toll of the incidents in the 1980s and 1990s.

This Recent Tragedy and the Role of Current Laws

Amidst the Bondi events, the nation's firearm regulations were not entirely useless. It has been suggested the alleged attackers might have been armed with manually-operated long guns and a straight-pull shotgun. These weapons can only fire a single bullet at a time, requiring a manual operation to ready the subsequent shot. Although these guns are capable of being discharged rapidly with lethal results, they remain significantly less rapid and less efficient than the large-magazine, self-loading rifles frequently used in overseas attacks. The casualty count at Bondi would've been far higher if more advanced firearms had been available.

Preventing a future Bondi requires unity across all states. And unfortunately, there are already cracks in the united front.

Legislation Under Strain

However, the terrible consequences of the attack demonstrates that current gun laws are failing. Designed in the late 1990s with the noblest aims, decades have eroded their efficacy. Alarmingly, there are currently a greater number of guns in Australia than prior to the Port Arthur massacre, with some individuals in urban areas owning arsenals numbering in the hundreds.

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

The Path Forward: Proposed Reforms

In the time after the Bondi tragedy, there have been numerous declarations regarding new gun laws. New South Wales in particular will shortly introduce a suite of measures to reduce the public danger posed by firearms. The federal government has proposed a new firearm surrender scheme, and there is hope for a national firearms registry, despite the complexities of coordinating state and federal governments.

All of this are feasible if the nation works together. As noted, when it comes to firearm laws, the country is dependent on its least stringent jurisdiction. This is the very nature of the Australian federation – regulations in one state are much less meaningful if they can be avoided with a journey across a border.

Addressing Frequent Arguments

There is the inevitable argument that "guns don't kill people, individuals are". This is accurate in the identical way that aircraft do not fly passengers, aviators do. Yes, aircraft require operators, but it would be virtually impossible for a pilot to transport 500 people overseas without the plane. The horrific violence seen at Bondi would be all but impossible without guns, and would have been significantly less lethal if the accused individuals had not had access to the firearms they used.

Balancing Need and Safety

There are valid needs for some Australians to possess guns. Managing livestock or controlling vermin in rural areas is extremely difficult without them. A complete removal of guns from the country is impractical, as in certain contexts they are indispensable.

The achievable goal – the imperative action – is to ensure that gun laws are modernized to better match the world we live in today. Australia's laws have historically been the admiration of the world, but time and distance has taken a toll and the nation is less secure as it once was. It is critical to take the lessons of Bondi to heart, and make certain that future generations are equally safe as past generations have been.

A friend remarked after the Bondi events, "things like this just don't happen here". This is true, but only because the country has collectively worked to keep itself safe. As nightmarish as the attack was, there is an aspiration that it can serve as the final tragedy the nation ever sees.