Statistically, you are more likely to get killed by a gun than in a car accident here in Louisiana.
“Being a person who’s been on both sides of the gun, I’ve seen how easy it is to close your eyes, pull the trigger and move on.”
Those are the words of Arthur Reed, but some may know him as “Silky Slim.”
“Being in a violent community, growing up violent, becoming one of the gang leaders that was from this area, and also from South Central. I’ve lost a lot of friends. I’ve seen a lot of violence,” Reed explained.
In particular, Reed has seen a lot of gun violence.
In 2015, the Capital City saw more than 70 homicides, most of those were by a gun, that is according to the crime statistics website www.batonrougecrime.com
Statewide, a recent report shows Louisiana ranks 2nd in the nation when it comes to gun deaths.
Reed said these killings go beyond the grave.
“But when you face them, with the horror and the pain that the mother has for years. Some mothers never really get over this,” Reed said.
Mothers like Carolyn Williams Zeno and Linda Smith, who all share the same pain.
Zeno lost her son Chad at the hands of a gunman almost nine years ago.
“To see my son earlier that day, and for me to say to him, ‘Chad, I don’t want you hanging with this particular person because he’s going to be the death of you,'” Zeno explained. “That really did something to me.”
For Linda Smith, she felt that pain three times.
“I’ve lost three sons to gun violence. My oldest son was 22 years old, when he was killed in a driveby shooting. My second son was 25, and my baby boy was 23 years old,” Smith said.
The moms along with Silky Slim are using their experiences to prevent gun violence in the streets of Baton Rouge.
“What we try to do is to reach out to that generation and let them know is that if you have a gun, nine times out of ten, you will use it,” Reed said.
“Guns don’t kill people. It’s people that use the guns that kill people. It’s the mindset and the heart of the man. It’s the person whoever commits the crime,” Zeno concluded.
Durell and Tarj Hamilton have seen gun violence firsthand. It all happened on September 3rd 2007.
“We was pulling up to our home. We was approach by two gunmen that tried to rob us. A shootout occurred,” Durell Hamilton. “I fired shots at them. They fired shots back. It wind up hitting me in the abdomen, which gave me kind of like life-threatening injuries, and also, a bullet hit my wife in the back.”
It left Tarj paralyzed, and Durrell said if he didn’t have his gun, they wouldn’t be here.
Louisiana is known as one of the deadliest states, when it comes to gun violence, and one of the easiest to get a gun.
“There’s so many on the street right now. So, how are you going to pick up all those guns because they’re already out there. So the streets are already poisoned with guns,” Tarj stated.
“I hate them. I just don’t like the guns. I wish they remove them off the street,” said Donna Wright who lost her son to gun violence.
The question is, how do they get on the streets and into the wrong hands? Reed said, it’s simple.
“You leave your gun in the car, and I come out and burglarize your car, that’s an illegal gun on the streets now,” Reed explained.
At a glance, in the Pelican State, by law, if you want to buy a gun, no permit is required, just a valid driver’s license. You must be 21 years old to buy a handgun and 18 for shotguns and rifles.
When it comes to selling a gun, licensed dealers are required to do background checks, but there is no law restricting a purchaser from selling it to someone else, unless he or she knowingly sells the gun to someone who is underage or a convicted felon.
Durell doesn’t think stricter gun laws are the solution, and education is key.
“Right now, it’s going to take more people getting involved in the community,” Durell said.
“More activities within the community, so we can educate the young men and women about guns, and really show them examples,” Zeno said. “Let them hear our stories.”
“I just pray that everyone comes together,” said Melissa Gibson, who lost her son to gun violence.
The Hamiltons have an organization called “One Voice, One Dream, One Team” to help educate the youth in our community about violence and bring awareness to the issue.