The most recent school shooting has got politicians once again arguing about gun laws. I have been firm in my belief that guns are unnecessary. They are terrible things that have been created only to destroy. The Tao Te Ching aligns with my own view on the subject of weapons, and it states that all people should detest them because they only bring forth sorrow. The possession of weapons, of any kind, implies that there is a need for them, but there is no need.
It is argued that police must have guns to do their job. This, too, is a lie. Police can be trained in martial arts. They can use pepper spray and perhaps a tranquilizer gun to immobilize a suspected criminal. Shooting them only places the police officer under suspicion because it must then be decided if there was probable cause or if the officer acted out of racial or some other bias. Contrary to the biggest argument for owning guns, a gun will not protect you. Owning a gun merely increases the possibility that you will use it to do harm. If you use a gun in the belief that it will keep you safe, you have a fifty fifty chance that you will be shot.
The issue of gun possession is really an issue of our collective belief in violence. Why is there violence? Violence is born out of fear. Perceiving another person or another country as an enemy because they have what we want, or because we cannot control them, is where violence begins. Creating laws and imposing sanctions is seen as a challenge to those that would oppose them. It creates resistance, which leads to conflict. Conflict leads to violence. The Tao Te Ching also states that we should have no need for laws and that the laws we should live by are those written on our hearts.
Young men and women join, or are drafted into the military. They are issued guns and trained in the art of fighting. They are indoctrinated into a life of violence at a tender age, long before they have acquired wisdom from living life. It is only after having witnessed the horrors of war that some will begin to question the error of their ways. Our children are being taught that life here on our planet is fraught with violence. They are learning that arming themselves with weapons is their only hope for survival, but in actuality, owning weapons only ensures that the violence will continue.
