Gun Control: What the Dalai Lama Tells American Students

Dear Editor,     September 3, 2018

It’s not just the second amendment; it is a basic human principle that people have a right to defend themselves. It is evident that if the colonists had not resisted the British laws of “search and seize,” the USA might simply not have come into existence. And, people want to do away with the same privilege that gave them life? Obviously, there is a serious disconnection here.

It is more obvious that a sinister power is behind the entire movement to do away with guns in USA, a move that will allow the citizens to be enslaved, given the strong forces acting on America. Think George Soros! But George Mason, father of the Bill of Rights, said: “…The British Parliament was advised by an artful man, who was governor of Pennsylvania, to disarm the people; that it was the best and most effectual way to enslave them; but that they should not do it openly, but weaken them, and let them sink gradually…."

Mad Hitler once said, "The most foolish mistake we could possibly make would be to allow the subject races to possess arms.” From the coin’s other side, non-violent Gandhi said, "Among the many misdeeds of the British rule in India, history will look upon the Act depriving a whole nation of arms, as the blackest." And, the gentlest of people on the planet, the venerable Dalai Lama, in May, 2001, told Portland, Oregon, high school students, "If someone has a gun and is trying to kill you, it would be reasonable to shoot back with your own gun."

But are we learning in the USA?

The argument that taking away guns will prevent school shootings and murders is misplaced. The fact is that the criminal nature will always find a way to kill, guns notwithstanding. It is simply no good to fool oneself. The epidemic of school shootings has a social cause and psychology that goes much beyond guns.

In Switzerland, each able bodied male can keep a rifle in his house, during and after his military service is completed. What’s more, the rifle must be kept loaded at all times, and the government supplies 20 rounds of ammunition to each. There are 2 million guns in their country population of 8 million – that’s a 12 times higher gun ratio than USA. Yet, the homicides in Switzerland are close to zero, while school shootings are unheard of.

India has 1.3 billion people, and gun ownership is permitted as a right. Despite the large gun ownership and population, there are no school shootings at all. And, despite the population difference, a US resident in USA is 12 times more likely to be shot by a gun than an Indian resident in India.

In China, private citizens are generally not permitted to own guns. Guess how much freedom they have?

The gun laws of Israel are the most informative and profound. Gun ownership is by permit and exam only. But, once a permit is granted, the owner is required to carry the gun – whether a pistol or rifle – on his/her person at all times. The gun can thence be carried concealed or openly. A citizen carrying a gun has shot down assailants trying to bomb public places, blow up buses, and attack private citizens. The number of times this has prevented terrorist attacks is untold. And the number of school shootings in Israel? Zero. Israel is a case where guns overtly help protect the public.

Those countries mentioned above that permit guns have their heads screwed on their shoulders. In contrast, people in USA are getting unhinged, day-by-day. It is evident that it is not guns that kill school children; it is a madness that has descended for which the society, its parents, the government, the schools, and the lack of prayer are to blame. The cure here is to look deeper at the social fabric and network of modern day USA rather than take away an essential instrument of public freedom and individual liberty.

Sincerely,

Amarjit Singh

Honolulu, Oahu