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1 Barry L. Rev. 63 (2000)
Guns, Gangs, and Preschools - Moving beyond Conventional SOlutions to Confront Juvenile Violence

handle is hein.journals/barry1 and id is 67 raw text is: Guns, Gangs, and Preschools: Moving Beyond Conventional Solutions to Confront Juvenile Violence David B. Kopel The evidence of a national crisis involving children and guns seems over- whelming: * Nearly 16 children a day died in 1997 as a result of a firearms homicide, suicide or unintentional shooting.'1 * Firearms are responsible for the deaths of 45,000 infants, children and adolescents per year.,2 More than 135,000 children carry a gun to school every day.3 [A]n estimated 270,000 guns are brought to school each day in this coun- try.4 These statistics are horrifying. Fortunately, they are all false. The correct sta- tistics are presented later in this article. Unfortunately, the misleading factoids about children and guns invented by interest groups have distracted attention from the real, and terrible, problem of children and guns: namely the extremely high homicide rate of inner-city minority male teenagers. This article attempts to save lives by offering accurate information about these tragic deaths, and by pre- senting tested, effective solutions. Part I of this article provides the factual foundation for serious inquiry into the problem of children and guns. It debunks various factoids, identifies the heart of the real problem, and explains why some teenagers-faced with very serious threats of criminal attack-sometimes carry firearms for protection. I. Character Counts, Statistics on Youth & Violence (visited 6/5/00) <http://www.charactercounts.org/ rskstats.htm> citing Nat. Center Health Stat. 1998. 2. Marc B. Goldstein, How Guns Don't Kill But They Sure Make It Easier, HARTFORD COURANT, July 5, 1992, at 14, quoted in DAVID B. KOPEL, GUNS: WHO SHOULD HAVE THEM? 309 (1995). 3. Ceasefire, Inc., Mission Statement, (visited 3/17/00) http://www.ceasefire.org/html/pec2a.html>. 4. Margaret A. Hamburg, Youth Violence in a Public Health Concern, in VIOLENCE IN AMERICAN SCHOOLS 47 (Delbert S. Elliot et al. eds.,1998), citing DELBERT S. ELLIOT, YOUTH VIOLENCE: AN OVERVIEW (Univ. of Colo. Center for the Study & Prevention of Violence) (1994).