77% of violent deaths
in school are caused by firearms (AACAP).
More than 800
Americans, young and old, die when shot by someone under the age of
19.
In 1996, more than 1300
children aged 10-19 committed suicide while using a firearm. A teen
who may be temporarily depressed will not get a second chance at life
the majority of the time when they use a firearm to attempt suicide.
Most are fatally wounded. (www.handguncontrol.org)
There are very few laws
governing children's access to guns. The Brady Law made it
illegal for children under age 21 to purchase handguns from licensed
dealers, although a loophole still permits 18-21 year olds to purchase
handguns from private or unlicensed individuals. (The Columbine
shooters used four guns purchased at gun-shows, three of which were
bought by an eighteen-year-old friend.) (www.handguncontrol.org)
Nearly a million U.S.
students took guns to school during 1998 (Parents Resource Institute
for Drug Education).
Approximately one half
of all homes in the United States contain a firearm (AACAP).
Everyday in America, 16
children are killed by firearms. That is one every 2 hours or less
(Children's Defense Fund, 1998).
More
U.S. teenagers die from gunshot wounds than from all natural causes
combined.
Between 1990 and
1995, suicide and homicide death rates for children under age 15 years
were gathered for 26 industrialized countries. The
suicide and homicide rates for children in the U.S. were two and five
times higher than those for the other 25 countries combined.
A firearm was associated with 85% of the U.S. deaths. This was 12
times higher than firearm deaths in the other 25 countries (AACAP).
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