Study: Gun training (not gun bans) reduce tragic child violence
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GUN OWNERS ALLIANCE
!!ALERT!!
Chris W. Stark – Director
P.O. Box 1924
Crosby, Texas 77532-1924
Ph. 1-281-787-4111 Fax 1-281-328-7505
http://www.GOA-Texas.org
email: [email protected]
05 March 2000
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Study: Gun training (not gun bans) reduce tragic child violence
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Copyright ? 2000 by http://www.LP.org
Republication permitted ONLY if this e-mail alert
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NEWS FROM THE LIBERTARIAN PARTY
2600 Virginia Avenue, NW, Suite 100
Washington DC 20037
http://www.LP.org
George Getz, Press Secretary
Phone: (202) 333-0008 Ext. 222
E-Mail: [email protected]
WASHINGTON, DC — The shooting of a Michigan 6-year-old may
focus renewed attention on a federal study with an unconventional
conclusion: Giving kids more access to guns may actually help reduce
such tragic incidents in the future, the Libertarian Party said today.
“Instead of using the death of Kayla Rolland as an excuse to
impose more gun control, politicians like Bill Clinton should read this
study — since it demonstrates that children who are taught by parents
to use guns responsibly are far less likely to commit crimes,” said
Steve Dasbach, the party’s national director.
“No, we can’t say that this particular shooting could have been
prevented — or that this troubled 6-year-old should have been given a
gun by his equally troubled parents. But what we can say is that, in
general, the most effective way to reduce firearm-related violence
among children is to buy them a gun and teach them how to use it
responsibly.”
That surprising discovery is contained in a study by the
federal government entitled, “Urban Delinquency and Substance Abuse,”
which was conducted from 1993-1995 by the U.S. Department of Justice’s
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.
In an effort to determine the relationship between “problem
behaviors” like drug use, teen pregnancy, and crime, child
psychologists tracked 4,000 boys and girls aged 6 to 15 in Denver,
Pittsburgh, and Rochester, NY.
The findings were a slap in the face to “conventional wisdom”
about children and guns, said Dasbach — and a sharp rebuke to Bill
Clinton’s renewed calls for mandatory trigger locks and other gun
control measures in the wake of Tuesday’s shooting in Mount Morris
Township, Michigan.
According to the study:
* Children who get guns from their parents don’t commit gun
crimes (0%), while children who get illegal guns are very likely to do
so (21%).
* Children who get guns from parents are less likely to commit
any kind of street crime (14%) than children who have no gun in the
house (24%) — and are dramatically less likely to do so than children
who acquire an illegal gun (74%).
* Children who get guns from parents are less likely to use
drugs (13%) than children who get illegal guns (41%).
“Boys who own legal firearms have much lower rates of
delinquency and drug use [than boys who get illegal guns] and are even
slightly less delinquent than non-owners of guns,” the study reported.
“The evidence is in: When it comes to preventing youthful
violence, responsible parents and the Second Amendment apparently work
better than politicians’ irresponsible proposals, such as so-called
smart-gun technology or mandated safety locks,” said Dasbach.
Are Libertarians saying that every parent should buy their
child a gun?
“Of course not,” said Dasbach. “Deciding whether to give your
son or daughter a gun — and teaching them how to use it — is a
serious decision that every parent will have to make. Many parents will
properly decide that their children are not mature enough to learn how
to use a gun safely. But the point is: Responsible parents are better
able to make that decision than a bunch of irresponsible politicians in
Washington, DC.
“Such an enlightened approach to gun ownership will not bring
Kayla Rolland back to life,” Dasbach acknowledged. “But it would make
it less likely that another Kayla Rolland would die in such a tragic
and pointless incident. And that would be a step in the right
direction.”
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Copyright ? 2000 by Gun Owners Alliance (GOA-Texas). Republication
permitted ONLY if this e-mail alert is left intact in its original
state. The views herein do not necessarily reflect the views of
any other individual or organization, than Gun Owners Alliance
(GOA-Texas). We do not officially represent Gun Owners of America.
Go to http://www.goa-texas.org/TXsig.htm for more information.
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