Hi Tom, as you were just saying about Guns and Kids....
TR> Guns and children mix into a very lethal situation. Teenage boys
TR> are now more likely to die of gunshot wounds than from all natural
TR> causes combined. 
Would like to see your source for this.  What I have shows that
homicide for kids from 15-19 has a 37.3 rate compared to heart disease
at 3.4; malignant neo-plasms at 5.9; accidents and adverse effects at
55.5; cerebro-vascular diseases at 0.6; chonic obstructive pulmonary
diseases at 0.6; Pneumonia at 0.7; suicide (all methods) at 21.9 and
diabetes at 0.4.  Your more deaths via gunshot wounds does not compute
even if you are including suicide which runs at a rate of 10.8  Adding
the two, homicide and suicide equals 48.3 which is below the accidents
and adverse effects at 55.5.  
Source: US National Center for Health Statistics, Vital Statistical
Reports, 
TR> Homicides by kids with guns has tripled since 1983,
TR> so, where do we go from here?
Another by-product of our illustrious War on Drugs.  BTW, the stats
that I have show that the deaths and the death rate for injury by
firearms show that the deaths in 1980 were 33,780 for a rate of 14.8
and in 1992 were 37,776 for a rate of 14.9. (I don't have that
breakout by age.)  Not much change.  This means that if your stats are
accurate then the death rate for all people other than kids must have
improved.
TR> Recent polls indicate some alarming information. 35% of children
TR> from age 6 to 12 fear that their lives will be ended by gun
TR> violence. Most of the violence is committed by juveniles and against
TR> juveniles, but no segment of society is left untouched by the fear
TR> of the escalating violence. Parents are less likely to let their
TR> children walk to school alone or play on play grounds after school.
TR> Many of the elderly simply lock themselves in and create their own
TR> prison of sorts.
These statements I am in absolute agreement with.
TR> So, what is the cause of this escalation of violence. Most experts
TR> always list the deterioration of the traditional family as a leading
TR> cause. Many experts list the following in various order: poverty,
TR> violence in the media, drugs, and gangs. Other factors which appear
TR> to be heavily related are one-parent or no-parent homes.
TR> 
TR> Things are not all gloom and doom. There are many successful
TR> programs which have the potential to bring the violence under
TR> control. The police won't make these programs work. It will take
TR> every citizen, every businessman, every parent, and every police
TR> officer working as a team.
TR> 
TR> An eight step action plan was recently proposed by the Office of
TR> Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention:
TR> 
TR> 1) Provide immediate intervention and appropriate sanctions and
TR> treatment for delinquent juveniles. 
TR> 
TR> 2) Prosecute certain serious, violent, and chronic juvenile 
RE> offenders in criminal court. 
TR> 
TR> 3) Reduce youth involvement with guns, drugs, and gangs. 
TR> 
TR> 4) Provide opportunities for children and youth. 
TR> 
TR> 5) Break the cycle of violence by addressing youth victimization, 
TR> abuse, and neglect. 
TR> 
TR> 6) Strengthen and mobilize communities. 
TR> 
TR> 7) Support the development of innovative
TR> approaches to research and evaluation. 
TR> 
TR> 8) Implement an aggressive
TR> public outreach campaign on effective strategies to combat juvenile
TR> violence.
TR> 
TR> Sounds like a fairly good plan if we could get everyone behind it
TR> and make it work. If not, it would simply be another pie in the sky
TR> exercise in politics. 
Although this is a start for a good plan, why is there no mention of
education about firearms, firearms responsibility or firearms safety
and why am I not surprized?  It sounds to me like a political exercise
to pass more legislation.  We don't need more, we just need to exercise
what already exists.
RD 
sandman@azstarnet.com - A newspaper ISP - Arizona Daily Star
sandman@brassroots.org - A no compromise gun rights organization.
http://www.azstarnet.com/~sandman
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 X KWQ/2 1.2i X Any jury that makes any award to a criminal should pay it.
--- Maximus/2 3.01
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