Juvenile Gun Violence Essay

Since 2013 there have been 268 school shootings in the United States alone (Everytown for Gun Safety, 2017). School gun violence is becoming increasingly probable. It is imperative that our government and our citizens come together to create a solution and implement a plan to prevent and stop the occurrence of school gun violence. The solution, for some, is to bring more guns into the picture by arming teachers, principals, and other school officials, or place armed police officers at school sites (LaPierre, 2015). For others, the solution is to make even stricter laws regarding gun use or to get rid of these weapons altogether. These certainly are drastic options; I must say that I do believe the true solution is to increase the focus on mental health services and by extension, mental health awareness. There is simply not enough focus on the mental health of our youth and of our students. Mental health services are the most important step to making schools safer, because this solution touches the entire problem of violence at its root level.

Studies show some parents underestimate their children’s experience handling firearms. That’s the biggest mistake a parent can make, especially in this generations time and day. There are so many ways for a young child to learn about guns; how to use them, where to get them, how much they cost, pretty much anything. Never underestimate what your child knows about anything. They’ll surprise you. They may not know about it because they wanted to know.

The intention of this paper is to look at and present some issues and strategies that members of a school community think about when trying to create safer schools. Particularly when addressing an active shooter in a school setting. A major issue to consider when trying to keep all schools safe, is the simple fact that no two schools are the same. Understanding this can lead us to the conclusion that it is impossible to have one global plan or program that can be 100% effective in all schools. “Violence prevention programs work best when they incorporate multiple strategies and address the full range of possible acts of violence in schools. For any set of policies to work, it must be established and

     Ever since the terrible tragedy at Columbine High School, there has been a numerous list of recent school shootings in America. Youth violence is a major issue in today’s society. Many people dread what causes adolescents to be so violent, committing horrible crimes.     

Lastly, more responsibility should be put on the adults who legally own a firearm, in order to keep weapons out of the hands of a teen. By making them inaccessible and unloaded, teens will have a much harder time getting their hands on weapons that have potential to harm them, stopping future gun crimes against teens in its tracks. Guns are not the only reason teenagers are being affected in negative ways, many other factors that are influencing teenagers in America. American’s need to open their eyes and realize that guns should not be used as a scapegoat, the actions of a person does the real harm.

I would hope that nobody would just hand a child a firearm. I know growing up; it was common for the boys to go hunting with the men. The boys were never alone with the hunting rifles, and were taught to respect firearms. The kids knew that these guns were not toys and nothing to be played with. This was a long time ago, before all the school shootings that have come about in the last few years. My Dad now keeps all the guns under lock

What if a kid was left in a room with an unloaded gun in reach? In 2014, a psychologist ran a social experiment using young kids as subjects. ABC recorded the experiment results as almost every kid decided to pick up the firearm and point it at each other (ABC News). Overall a kid is exceptionally curious by the time they enter school. Teaching firearm safety courses, especially at younger ages, would help children to treat firearms with respect. As a main point, the most common gun safety trick for most teens at the DNR and other hunter education courses, Is that if you see a gun; leave it be, walk away, and tell an adult. At older ages, educated teens might be able to extend their learning experience by joining a trap team or competitive

A trend analysis of juvenile homicide offenses shows that since the mid 1970's, the number of homicides in which no firearm was involved has remained fairly constant. However, homicides by juveniles involving a firearm have increased nearly threefold. In addition, during this same period, the number of juvenile arrests for weapons violations increased 117 percent. When guns are the weapon of choice, juvenile violence becomes deadly.

Schools are no longer a safe havens for furthering knowledge; instead violence is occurring at alarming rates. Common occurrences in schools include: physical altercations, severe property damage, and bullying behaviors. According to “ThefutureofChidren.org,” youth violence in schools costs the public 158 billion dollars each year. In this decade, that rate of children inflicting violence on other children and teachers is staggering. Today’s teachers are being trained on gun safety, school lobbies are being installed with bullet proof glass, and counselors hold

Since 2013, there has been 242 school shootings, an average of nearly one a week. Research states that “these incidents resulted in 59 deaths and 124 non-fatal injuries.” Nearly one in six of the shootings occurred after an argument intensified because “of the presence of a gun rather than in spite of it.” Research also shows that more than half of the kids obtained a gun at more (most likely because their guardian did not store it correctly.) In 2013-2015 there was 84 K-12 school shootings and 76 college of university shootings. The U.S Department of Education statistics show that the number of students killed on campus per year is approximately 15 homicides and 5 students annually in primary and secondary schools. In over half of the incidents did the perpetrator intellionally injure/kill at least one other person with a gun (In eight of those incidents, the shooter the shot and killed themselves.) Between 2013 and 2015, 56% were perpetrated by minors. Research provides an extra reason that gun control is needed, because more than half of these school shooters are getting these guns from their guardians

In 2015, 13,367 people lost their lives due to gun violence according to Gun Violence Archive. The Archive also states that out of that number, 693 were children from ages 0-11. We can all agree that there is indeed a problem that we have to address. The solution to that problem, however, has been debated by many. I believe the solution to this problem exists in three parts: Mandatory training and licensing along with more heavily secure gun storage, stricter regulations on the purchasing of a firearm—disabilities and criminal records should be more deeply looked into before transaction—and finally, equipping teachers at highs schools with the right kind of weaponry to prevent mass shootings.

People all across the world are debating about whether to require the start of reducing gun violence. Guns have always been a part of American culture, even before we became the America we know today. In colonial times and the days of the Wild West, guns were an essential part of survival. They were needed to kill animals for food and to protect against unwanted trespassers and predators. However, in these modern times, because we have conveniences such as Hannaford and organized police systems, guns have gone from tools of necessity to novelty toys. For the most part, people own guns in this century for sporting reasons or to protect their families and home from intrusion. The simplicity of a gun and the lack of effort it requires owning

The first basic rule is to never assume your gun is not loaded. No matter what, always check to make sure there is no ammunition in the gun. Another big rule is to remember that the safety (which is to prevent the gun from firing) of the gun is a mechanical device and can fail. Always point the gun in a safe direction (which is away from people, etc.). Horseplay should be avoided at all times when handling a gun. For storage, always make sure the gun is unloaded and locked in a location that is inaccessible to children.

School shootings have altered American history greatly over the past two decades. From 1997 to 2007, there have been more than 40 school shootings, resulting in over 70 deaths and many more injuries. School shoot-outs have been increasing in number dramatically in the past 20 years. There are no boundaries as to how old the child would be, or how many people they may kill or injure. At Mount Morris Township, Michigan, on February 29th, 2000, there was a 6 year old boy who shot and killed another 6 year old girl at the Buell Elementary School with a .32 caliber pistol. And although many shootings have occurred at High Schools or Middle Schools, having more guns on those campuses would not be a good environment for children to grow up in.

A literature review of gun violence prevention is being undergone as part of this submittal. This research is important because gun violence has been a plague in the United States and the United Kingdom, among other places, for much of the recent century or two. This violence takes on two major forms. The first is general gun violence that is perpetrated as part of gang violence, robberies, burglaries, crimes of passion or spite and so forth. The other major form, which is both quite uncommon but very poignant and affecting when it happens, are school and other mass shootings like Columbine and the very recent Sandy Hook. There have been a decent amount of other school shootings and work shootings, but those are far and away the most notorious. Both were effected by very mentally ill teenagers or young adults that decide to go out in a bloody and perverted blaze of glory before they took their own life.