Home » Poems » L Milton Hankins » Guns Do Kill People

Guns Do Kill People

I’m sick of hearing that guns don’t kill -- Without an assault-style weapon in his hand no bullets would have been fired in Uvalde, Texas. Nineteen children would be alive and happy; Two fine teachers would be grading papers! Trample me down, if you really must, but these children were blown away like wind picks up dust and, as far as I can tell, those who could do something have done nothing to stop it since Sandy Hook! Shame on our state and federal legislators! You commend the dead to the care of a heavenly father, but you do absolutely nothing to stop the carnage! I’m here to tell you, Jesus isn’t the answer. We are! When I ask myself “What Would Jesus Do?” I know. Jesus would say rid yourself of your precious toys, for they are instruments of Satan! I am appalled that so-called Christians, who rage against abortion refuse to support gun control, while assault-style weapons are killing real live, human beings…not fetuses, but our sweet, loving children! Spare me your righteous intonations, for until you see the problem for what it is and do the right thing to stop the killings they will proliferate and you are to blame! Don’t pontificate and tell me you are pro-life, for you are not! You are not, I repeat. If you were pro-life, you would be standing up for our kids, You would be doing everything you can to protect them, You would be supporting anti-assault weapon legislation, You would be for confiscating them, You would be for penalizing those who traffic in them. Wake up and admit the truth, Guns DO kill people…every day! Written May 25, 2022

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Krish Radhakrishna

Date: 5/26/2022 10:20:00 AM

Totally agree! We do not carry guns in the UK and feel very safe! This John Wayne, Clint Eastwood gun culture looks great on block buster screens- how terrible in a school set up where children have gone to learn? very good write!

L Milton Hankins
Date: 5/26/2022 10:48:00 AM

Thank you so much, Krish. I really appreciate your taking this stand with me and others here at the Soup.

Caren Krutsinger

Date: 5/26/2022 8:39:00 AM

Exactly right! or Exactly Write. "If you were pro-life, you would be standing up for our kids," But are we? Apparently NOT.

L Milton Hankins
Date: 5/26/2022 9:17:00 AM

Thanks for your support in this matter, Caren. I am going to do everything I can to draw attention to this travesty. I'm going to write my congressmen and senators and to anyone else who might listen. I hope you'll join me in this.

Mike Gentile

Date: 5/26/2022 5:17:00 AM

Milt, I agree that I don't see a place for Assault style weapons of war in the hands of everyday citizens for any reason!

L Milton Hankins
Date: 5/26/2022 8:17:00 AM

Thank you so much, Mike. Yes, we must stand up against these despicable weapons. When they were outlawed and confiscated in Australia and New Zealand, murder and suicide rates plummeted.

Arthur Vaso

Date: 5/25/2022 9:03:00 PM

Again you have expressed this far better than I could. Such needless pain and suffering and death, is escapes me people do not get this! Bravo for speaking up!

L Milton Hankins
Date: 5/26/2022 8:18:00 AM

Thank you so much, arthur, for your affirmation and support. I feel compelled to speak out firmly and resolutely. What can come as a result of one person speaking out, I do not know, but I must try.

Robert Gorelick

Date: 5/25/2022 6:25:00 PM

Milton, I admire your passion and conviction. As far as I can tell, this is the only nation on planet earth, that has so much violent carnage, in our grade schools. If the United States were a patient, I would stick it in the ICU...for there is something seriously sick in our body politic. Good one! Robert

L Milton Hankins
Date: 5/25/2022 6:35:00 PM

There certainly is something wrong, Robert. I may not have the answer to the problem, but I think we ought to have someone in this great country who does and will do something about it. I'm not going to back down from my argument, in any case, and I'm going to write letters and speak out on social media until someone who can does something about it...for the sake of those children! Thank you, Robert.

I Am Anaya

Date: 5/25/2022 6:20:00 PM

Very passionate convictions inspire me to come on board and help you... Guns don't kill people, people kill people--people with guns that is! Here for you Milt. Anaya

I Am Anaya
Date: 5/25/2022 7:37:00 PM

I know plenty of People who don't want guns in their homes, they don't want that way of life. Double that by the millions and there are more of us than meets the eye.

I Am Anaya
Date: 5/25/2022 6:38:00 PM

Gun shows, how their policy was no policy except to sell weapons...no background checks! Do you recall that? Congress keeps obstructing laws which could save children's lives, but they bow down to gun lobbies, Lord that's how the money rolls in! I know what you mean Milt, have a restful night.

L Milton Hankins
Date: 5/25/2022 6:23:00 PM

Thank you, Anaya. OTOH, people without guns don't shoot people to death! In fact, guns DO kill people. It's all in how you look at it, isn't it? If that shooter had not had an awful, powerful assault rifle he could not have killed all those kids! Hmmm...I suppose matches don't start fires either, but if a person has no matches, that person won't start a fire. Poor example, but you know what I mean.

Ann Peck

Date: 5/25/2022 5:28:00 PM

Another excellent poem about a sad truth. Do you think you could squeeze in time to run for President in '24 :) Seriously, our country needs more people like you.

L Milton Hankins
Date: 5/25/2022 6:20:00 PM

Aw, thank you, Ann, but I'd be an awful president. I'd be trying to please everyone and probably making everyone mad. I'm afraid I'd have to do what I felt was right, and you know that probably wouldn't go over so well. For example, I'd issue an exec order to ban selling and owning assault rifles, and I'd order every single one of them confiscated, and you'd break the law if you knew someone who owned one and didn't report it. I know that wouldn't work, but I'd be giving it a try!!!! Thanks, Ann.

Ann Peck
Date: 5/25/2022 5:38:00 PM

'Milton, I'd like to reply to Jeff's argument: Jeff, Many, many school budgets can't fit arming schools into them. Just look at courses that have been dropped for lack of funds. Sad but true. OK, I'm done :)

Jeff Kyser

Date: 5/25/2022 2:04:00 PM

Respectfully, until we have trained, armed guards at schools presenting a real deterrent to convince would-be shooters to stay away, this is going to happen. Statistics show gun-free zones are like blood in the water to a shark, but people won't listen, won't implement sensible solutions to protect our children. Sharing felon information across state lines and the fed is another step not being done right. Many things can be done, but removing semi-automatics from citizens is NOT one of them.

Jeff Kyser
Date: 5/26/2022 2:15:00 PM

The press has done such a number on people, especially those who have never held an AR. An AR is just a shorter barrelled semi-automatic with a standardized frame that lets people customize them to their liking. I can buy a rifle with a longer barrel, a wooden stock, more accurate, looks just like your grandfather's deer rifle, and fires a larger caliber bullet (.308, for instance), patterned like a Browning rather than an Armalite, and nobody freaks. And a .223 caliber is great for killing coyotes, feral hogs, etc. But 2nd amendment is not about hunting. Maybe they should all be painted pink with glitter :-)

Arthur Vaso
Date: 5/25/2022 9:01:00 PM

Jeff this happens in the USA, not in all other western Countries, we don't have armed guards at schools and we have the same amount of mental illness as in the USA, what we do not do is arm citizens who have no need for a gun. The math is pretty simple. Stop banning books in schools and start banning Guns for most people.

L Milton Hankins
Date: 5/25/2022 6:30:00 PM

So, how in the world did this 18-year-old kid BUY an AR-15? Was he investigated? Did they see what he was writing on social media or Facebook? Was there a waiting period? I don't have the answer to any of these questions, Jeff. I do know, for a fact, that were there not a single AR-15 rifle in this country, no child would die because of a bullet from an AR-15...period. I also know even you can do without one, Jeff. I'm 80 years old and I've never laid hands on an AR-15. I've shot my pistol many, many times, but only at targets. I gave up shooting a rifle as a teen because I hit a bird and watching if fly to its death with its guts falling out made me sick.

Jeff Kyser
Date: 5/25/2022 4:19:00 PM

Only one “looks scary”, but it is no different from a semi-auto deer rifle in terms of fire rate. Automatics (not semi-) already require very special background checks and licensing, and are not available to the general gun buyer.

Jeff Kyser
Date: 5/25/2022 4:16:00 PM

Milt, I have 6 guns that are all semi-automatic. That of course means I can fire as fast as I can pull the trigger. Two are .22 pistols. Two are 9 mm pistols. One is a .22 rifle. One is a AR-15. All can be fitted with magazines holding 10, 15, 17, 25, 30 rounds, depending on the gun. And really, only the 9mm and AR-15 are terribly useful for home defense, were I to have several intruders break in.

Jeff Kyser
Date: 5/25/2022 4:08:00 PM

We had students who had rifles or shotguns hanging in the back windows of their pickup trucks. I can assure you that a shotgun is deadly lethal. But nobody brought them into school. Culture has changed. People laugh, but video games with first person shooter can’t help. Drug culture is obscenely profitable. Father figures are sadly absent.

Jeff Kyser
Date: 5/25/2022 4:05:00 PM

Harden the school, make it a non-target. Lock down the doors (from the outside, not the inside, of course). Put metal detectors in high schools. Provide training and extra pay to teachers who want to carry, maybe? I prefer dedicated security at controlled entry points though. We protect banks, government buildings, why not children at schools? Review budgets, get rid of waste, raise taxes where necessary, but do we value extra administrators over this?

L Milton Hankins
Date: 5/25/2022 3:00:00 PM

Jeff, what do you think of the idea of arming and training classroom teachers with a pistol? I'm sort of on the fence about this, but I wonder if a trained teacher might have stopped this killer? I don't know. I'm open to any possible solution, however.

L Milton Hankins
Date: 5/25/2022 2:43:00 PM

I understand your point of view, Jeff, but I respectfully disagree. When you and I were in school (back in the dark ages) there were NO armed guards, NO shared felon information, and NO dead children in the classrooms from deranged killers. Why? I think you'll find that guns were for sport and sporting guns were common (my dad owned several) but assault weapons (i.e. military-style weapons) weren't readily available. Now, they are! I stand my ground. They need to be illegal, they need to be confiscated, and those who deal in them should be in prison!

Alexis Y.

Date: 5/25/2022 12:51:00 PM

Hi Milt, This is so sad. I’m tired of hearing horrific stories such as this. It makes no sense that innocent lives are lost in this way. My heart goes out to all that lost their lives that day.The gunman was pure evil.I agree, however, an evil human has to pull the trigger-Alexis

L Milton Hankins
Date: 5/25/2022 6:32:00 PM

Thank you so much, Alexis. Now I understand what you meant to say perfectly, and you are absolutely correct. We are reading from the same page! Hugs!

Alexis Y.
Date: 5/25/2022 3:16:00 PM

Now I see what you mean. It was supposed to say “pure evil” It’s corrected now-Alexis

L Milton Hankins
Date: 5/25/2022 2:48:00 PM

Here are the exact words I didn't understand, Alexis..."The gunman was pure I agree." Is that what you meant to say? I can't, in my heart, think he was pure, in any sense of the word.

L Milton Hankins
Date: 5/25/2022 2:47:00 PM

Absolutely, Alexis. Even if you disagree with my thinking in entirety (and I don't think you do actually) you would have a right to say what you think and believe. I will always respect differences and the right to speak one's piece. I simply didn't understand the structure of your last sentence and I thought perhaps there was a glitch or a miswording or something. I highly respect your opinion. Just as I respect Jeff's opinion, even though I can't agree with it.

Alexis Y.
Date: 5/25/2022 2:00:00 PM

Furthermore, I know we will disagree, but that's ok. As long as I'm not saying anything disrespectful. I respect you and your poetry immensely-Alexis

Alexis Y.
Date: 5/25/2022 1:58:00 PM

Milt, I am not trying to weaken the argument. I know for a fact that guns kill people. However, a gun by it's self can't kill anyone. I agree, there shouldn’t be a trigger to pull. So we agree. Guns are available to people that shouldn’t have access to them. I hate guns, I've know too many people who died from gun violence.I commented in support of what you wrote. However, If did disagree,as long as I said nothing disrespectful, that should be okay.

L Milton Hankins
Date: 5/25/2022 1:11:00 PM

And, just so I am clear on this, I am sick and tired of the silly excuses made that weaken the argument. I am also tired of people who claim to be pro-life Christians who do nothing constructive about the proliferation of assault rifles that are used in killing innocent people en masse. Thanks for hearing me out. I'm very upset today.

L Milton Hankins
Date: 5/25/2022 1:09:00 PM

I'm not sure I understand the first part of your last sentence, Alexis. My point is that there should not be a trigger to pull, at all. I am not opposed to owning guns for sport and self-protection, but assault-style weapons must be banned, period. I believe those in existence should be confiscated and destroyed. Assault-style weapons are for the battlefields of war, not for classrooms, nightclubs, and churches...period!

Ilene Bauer

Date: 5/25/2022 12:18:00 PM

a powerful and very necessary poem for today, milton! there's really nothing left to say when these things happen - it is sadder than sad and makes me madder than mad. i do not see any way that this awful violence will ever stop, no matter what any politician promises...

L Milton Hankins
Date: 5/25/2022 12:35:00 PM

Thank you, Ilene. I am so angry! So upset. I had to make this point. I'm completely put out by those people who weaken the point by saying it's bullets, not guns, or who want to argue semantics while little children die! These pro-life people, no less. Hypocrites, all of them! I can't imagine my Jesus saying anything less than get rid of those toys. You love them more than me, and they are causing carnage and death to your children!

Darlene De Beaulieu

Date: 5/25/2022 12:07:00 PM

Hello Milton, I was shocked to hear of the kills in a school. I am certain that children are now aria\d to go to school thinking they will get killed. tis so sad. I am afraid for the children to go to school. And i do not have children. Schools are not longer safe for the children. so sad. Enjoy your day my friend.

Darlene De Beaulieu
Date: 5/25/2022 3:21:00 PM

Hello Milton, right as long as the deranged man and boys are allowed to own guns. I do agree with you. yes I agree if a weapon is in the house destroy it. Guns are not safe in the homes. With children or no children. The government should do something I guess they are scared. Enjoy your evening my friend.

L Milton Hankins
Date: 5/25/2022 12:40:00 PM

Darlene, the schools and children are not safe as long as deranged men and boys are allowed to own assault-type weapons! If there were no assault-type weapons allowed, children would not die by bullets! Women, stand up for your children!!! If there is an assault weapon in your home, destroy it! The government will do nothing, you must!

Rico Leffanta

Date: 5/25/2022 11:39:00 AM

Guns don't kill people, bullets do, so require Gold Star ID to purchase ammunition with each purchase recorded in an app which flags designated risks. Well said, Milton! Aloha!

L Milton Hankins
Date: 5/25/2022 11:49:00 AM

Guns do kill people, Rico. We can argue over the semantics of this all day long, but the bottom line is...no gun, no killing with a gun. No triggers, no trigger to pull! The second and third line of my poem makes this point. I wish I could make it clearer. Still, I'll go along with your suggestion because we have to do everything possible to stop this horrible carnage.

Tom Cunningham

Date: 5/25/2022 11:37:00 AM

Heartbreaking to see the news report Milton, Those poor innocent children were at an awards ceremony before it happened. What sort of person could commit such a heinous crime. I can't for a minute imagine what those parents are going through. Tom

L Milton Hankins
Date: 5/25/2022 11:49:00 AM

Me neither, Tom, but my heart is broken for them. I'm having a really rough time writing anything positive today. Their world was shattered, and mine is, too.