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Following the tragedy of the awful incident at Bondi, Australia is confronting several critical reckonings. There is a long-overdue national focus on anti-Jewish sentiment, an ongoing concern about national security, and questions about the way such an event could occur. But, from the perspective of a health professional and Jewish Australian, the paramount dialogue we are finally having revolves around firearms.

A Decade of Warnings and a Proven Response

Public health experts have been sounding alarms about guns for a minimum of a decade. Following the events of the Port Arthur massacre, Australians came together and implemented a series of reforms to curb gun violence across the country. The strategy succeeded. Before 1996, the nation witnessed approximately one large-scale firearm incident per year. Over the following years, there have been extremely rare major events, with none reaching the fatalities of the shootings in the 1980s and 1990s.

The Bondi Attack and the Role of Current Regulations

Even during the Bondi tragedy, the nation's firearm regulations were not entirely useless. Reports indicate the individuals involved possessed with bolt-action rifles and a straight-pull shotgun. These firearms can only fire a one round at a time, necessitating a manual operation to chamber the subsequent shot. While these guns are capable of being discharged quite quickly with devastating effect, they remain significantly less rapid and less efficient than the high-capacity, semi-automatic rifles frequently used in international attacks. The number of deaths at Bondi could have been much greater if more advanced weapons had been accessible.

Stopping a future Bondi demands national cohesion. And unfortunately, we have already seen cracks in the united front.

A System Showing Weakness

However, the horrific 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 effectiveness. Alarmingly, there are currently more firearms in Australia than prior to the Port Arthur massacre, with some individuals in cities reportedly holding arsenals of hundreds of weapons.

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

The Road Forward: Announced Changes

Since the Bondi attack, there have been numerous declarations regarding strengthened gun laws. The state of NSW specifically will shortly enact a suite of reforms to mitigate the collective risk posed by firearms. The national government has announced a new firearm surrender scheme, and there is potential for a national firearms registry, despite the inherent challenges of aligning state and federal jurisdictions.

All of this are only possible if the nation works together. As stated, when it comes to gun control, the country is only as strong as its least stringent jurisdiction. This is the very nature of the Australian system – regulations in one state are easily circumvented if they can be bypassed with a short drive across a border.

Countering Common Objections

We hear the predictable argument that "firearms are not the killers, people kill people". This is accurate in the same sense that planes don't transport people, pilots do. Certainly, planes can't fly themselves, but it would be quite challenging for a captain to transport 500 people overseas without the aircraft. The horrific violence witnessed at Bondi would be extremely difficult without firearms, and would have been far less damaging if the alleged terrorists had been denied access to the weapons they used.

Weighing Necessity and Safety

There are valid reasons for some Australians to possess firearms. Managing livestock or controlling vermin in many places is incredibly hard without them. A complete removal of guns from the country is not feasible, as in certain contexts they are indispensable.

The achievable goal – what we must do – is to guarantee that gun laws are updated to accurately reflect the world we live in today. Australia's legislation have historically been the envy of the world, but the passage of years has taken a toll and the nation is less secure as it previously was. It is vital to learn from the tragedy of Bondi to heart, and make certain that future generations are equally safe as previous generations have been.

As one commentator remarked after the Bondi attack, "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 hope that it can serve as the last one the nation experiences.