Guns Don’t Kill People, But People Pull the Triggers

By Richard Johnson

When I heard that the Oakland Post was publishing a notice of a rally for D.A. Pamela Price at the Alameda County Courthouse Sunday, April 23 at 4:00 p.m. I told the publisher that I would invite some members of our newly formed organization, “Formerly Incarcerated Giving Back,” to attend the rally to show that we want to help rebuild trust and repair some of the harm that we caused to crime victims.

I plan to speak to as many people as possible that it is time for us to tell others, especially our youth, to lay down their guns and roll up their sleeves to work for positive change.

Given the recent upsurge in gun violence and random shootings, I have written this column for us to understand the dangers and costs associated with the proliferation of guns and why we must do some- thing about it.

“Guns don’t kill people; people kill people,” is a slogan by the National Rifle Association. This statement seems self-serving for those who wish to pass the buck and not deal with reality: Guns are the tools that kill people, but it’s people who pull the triggers.

People kill for various reasons: mental health, hatred, gangs, drugs, or domestic violence, but

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