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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 spotlight on antisemitism, an persistent concern about public safety, and inquiries about how such an event could occur. However, from the perspective of a public health expert and Australian Jew, the most important discussion we are finally having centers on firearms.

A Decade of Cautions and a Successful Solution

Public health experts have been issuing warnings about guns for at least a decade. Following the events of the Port Arthur tragedy, Australians united and enacted a suite of measures to reduce gun violence across the country. The strategy succeeded. Before 1996, the nation witnessed roughly one mass shooting per year. Over the following years, there have been extremely rare significant tragedies, with none reaching the fatalities of the incidents in the 1980s and 1990s.

This Recent Tragedy and the Role of Existing Laws

Amidst the Bondi tragedy, the nation's firearm regulations were partially effective. Reports indicate the alleged attackers might have been armed with bolt-action rifles and at least one straight-pull shotgun. These firearms can only fire a single bullet at a time, requiring a manual operation to ready the next round. While these guns are capable of being discharged quite quickly with lethal results, they remain far slower 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 different weapons had been accessible.

Preventing another Bondi demands national cohesion. And unfortunately, there are already fissures in the facade.

Legislation Under Strain

Yet, the horrific toll of the incident demonstrates that existing firearm regulations are failing. Designed in the late 1990s with the best of intentions, decades have eroded their efficacy. Alarmingly, there are currently more firearms in Australia than before the Port Arthur shooting, with some citizens in urban areas owning collections numbering in the hundreds.

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

The Path Ahead: Proposed Reforms

Since the Bondi attack, there have been numerous declarations regarding strengthened gun laws. New South Wales specifically will shortly introduce a suite of reforms to mitigate the collective risk from firearms. The national government has proposed a new gun buyback, and there is hope for a national firearms registry, notwithstanding the complexities of aligning state and federal governments.

These measures are only possible if the nation works together. As noted, regarding gun control, the country is dependent on its least stringent jurisdiction. This is the reality of the Australian federation – laws in one state are easily circumvented if they can be avoided with a short drive across a state line.

Countering Common Arguments

There is the inevitable argument that "firearms are not the killers, people kill people". This is accurate in the identical way that aircraft do not fly passengers, aviators do. Certainly, aircraft require operators, but it would be quite challenging for a captain to move 500 people overseas without the plane. The horrific violence seen at Bondi would be extremely difficult without guns, and would have been far less damaging if the accused individuals had been denied access to the firearms they possessed.

Weighing Need and Security

There are valid needs for some Australians to own firearms. Farm work or controlling vermin in rural areas is incredibly hard without them. A complete removal of firearms from the country is not feasible, as in some cases they are essential tools.

The achievable goal – what we must do – is to guarantee that firearm legislation are modernized to better match the world we live in today. Australia's laws have long been the admiration of the world, but time and distance has done its work and the nation is no longer as safe as it previously was. It is vital to learn from the tragedy of Bondi to heart, and make certain that future generations are as protected as past generations have been.

As one 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 made concerted efforts to maintain its security. As nightmarish as the incident was, there is hope that it can serve as the final tragedy the nation experiences.