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It is interesting discussion. Coming from a Buddhist community, I don't even want myself to label "Buddhist" anymore. "Buddhist" doesn't mean follower of true Dhamma or Buddha's teachings and just a label - I have witnessed worst. You may have different meaning for "Buddhist."
This topic reminds me of Vinterberg's perhaps most underrated film: Dear Wendy, where a bunch of misfit teenagers start a gun club with pacifistic views and end up being deemed dangerous by law enforcement. I always thought that the message completely went over people's heads as it's not about guns or gun violence, but about how young generations find their own values and worth through ideas, sexuality and other such things considered taboo, how the fear of one's self is used to systematically label people to be deviants and oppress them. But it's somewhat true for guns as well. It's not that they are necessarily harmful and inherently giving way to violence. It's that the power and authority it became a symbol of, the fear and fascination that surrounds it, the death it leaves in its wake on a daily basis makes it extremely difficult to own a gun without negative or outright destructive associations, from at least other people. It's also not necessarily a great idea. Like you might not load it because you wouldn't use it to take a life, but others wouldn't know that and might feel threatened enough to shoot in case of a home invasion or whatever.
I'd say there is no inherent moral problem with owning or shooting a gun. How bad it is in a karmic manner depends on the individual, but I probably wouldn't recommend people to carry because there are way too many risks: possible unforeseen consequences and one would really have to feel like the gain outweighs all these.
Comments
It is interesting discussion. Coming from a Buddhist community, I don't even want myself to label "Buddhist" anymore. "Buddhist" doesn't mean follower of true Dhamma or Buddha's teachings and just a label - I have witnessed worst. You may have different meaning for "Buddhist."
This topic reminds me of Vinterberg's perhaps most underrated film: Dear Wendy, where a bunch of misfit teenagers start a gun club with pacifistic views and end up being deemed dangerous by law enforcement. I always thought that the message completely went over people's heads as it's not about guns or gun violence, but about how young generations find their own values and worth through ideas, sexuality and other such things considered taboo, how the fear of one's self is used to systematically label people to be deviants and oppress them. But it's somewhat true for guns as well. It's not that they are necessarily harmful and inherently giving way to violence. It's that the power and authority it became a symbol of, the fear and fascination that surrounds it, the death it leaves in its wake on a daily basis makes it extremely difficult to own a gun without negative or outright destructive associations, from at least other people. It's also not necessarily a great idea. Like you might not load it because you wouldn't use it to take a life, but others wouldn't know that and might feel threatened enough to shoot in case of a home invasion or whatever.
I'd say there is no inherent moral problem with owning or shooting a gun. How bad it is in a karmic manner depends on the individual, but I probably wouldn't recommend people to carry because there are way too many risks: possible unforeseen consequences and one would really have to feel like the gain outweighs all these.