The Effects Of Gun Violence On Children

Gun violence have a big effect on young people! Studies have documented that young people exposed to gun violence experience lasting emotional scars. Some children may develop posttraumatic stress disorder, which can affect brain development. The psychological trauma of gun violence may lead some children to arm themselves "for protection," or desensitize them so that they feel less hesitation about engaging in violent acts.

Woods’ novel raises questions about the effects gun violence has on communities, which leads into how it can have negative mental effects on children, and how more laws should be passed for the expansion of

With the popular culture providing positive images of guns, the United States has a gun prevalence that is very rare in the modern world. While many people appreciate the “gun culture”, guns are heavily involved in violence in the United States. According to U.S. Department of Justice, since 1960, more than 750,000 Americans have died under firearms, including homicides, suicides, and unintentional injuries. The figure 1 provides a comprehensive survey of U.S. violent crimes for the period from 1993 to 2011.This figure illustrates that from 1993 to 2011, about 60% to 70% of homicides were associated with a firearm. Over the same period, between 6% and 9% of all nonfatal violence, with about 20% to 30% of robberies and 22% to 32% of aggravated assaults involving a firearm.

We don’t need to be that vigilant in order to know that gun-related violence and massacres have infiltrated our society. There have been many cases of public mass shootings that have occurred, with some of them happening in schools. 2015 will now be known as the year of mass shootings in the United States, and this is also the reason why the discussion for new gun control laws has heighten in the media.

     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.     

This study provides an investigation on youth feelings and reactions towards gun violence in an urban setting. The focus group validated that gun violence causes mental health behavior problems and stress among youth in Jersey City. However, participants in this study indicated that they have been a victim of gun violence sometime in their life. All participants highlighted that they have heard gun shots before and are used to it by now. In the discussion, many participants stated that if they go to the police that would not reduce gun violence in Jersey City because people will still continue to kill and shoot one another. The findings of this study displayed that gun violence is a huge problem in Jersey City that needs more attention from

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.

Teenage gun violence is caused by individuals between the ages of 13- 19. This type of violence is at an all-time high. It is becoming a serious problem, especially with such a rapid growth of violent technology displaying more troubled teens leading to more teen deaths involving the

There was a clear need for change in Boston as youth gun violence had risen dramatically in the years leading up to Operation Ceasefire. Between 1984 and 1994, juvenile homicide victimizations committed with handguns increased by 418 percent, and juvenile homicide victimizations committed with other guns increased 125 percent (Braga, Kennedy, Waring, and Piehl 2001). During this time period, young adults (ages 18 to 24) had the largest absolute increase in homicide commission and victimization, while adolescents (ages 14 to 17) had the highest proportional increase in numbers, and with a great deal of crossfire between the two age groups (Braga, Kennedy, Waring, and Piehl 2001).

Gun violence is a very controversial topic because everyone has their own perspectives on this particular topic. There are so many crimes caused by fire arms that it’s just plain out ridiculous. Many people have lost their lives due to gun violence and other crimes due to the use of a gun. Although guns are used for protection in certain cases, but most of the time they are not. There aren’t too many cases where someone used a gun for self-defense but there are many news stories and etcetera about a crime committed with the use of a firearm. A long time ago weapon violence had its issues however in no way like what is going on it current society. While there are occasions that have happened that appear to be stunning, tragic and pointless, comparable activities have happened decades prior; with the exception of they didn 't appear to happen as regularly as they do today. Weapon savagery has developed into a worldwide emergency. A few individuals feel we ought to boycott weapons inside and out, while others feel this would be unthinkable. Disposing of firearms may cure the issue however it may not be sufficient to make the issue go away.

Each year homicide and assault-related injuries result in an estimated $16 billion in combined medical and work loss (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/17/education-gun-violence-presidential-debate-2012_n_1974740.html). Gun violence may be broadly defined as a category of violence and crime committed with use of a firearm, it may or may not include actions ruled as self defense, actions for law enforcement. Gun violence is prevalent in African American Communities, although some might believe that it is not a racial issue ( CNN New’s stated “America’s Gun problem is not a race problem).

The availability of guns is responsible for the rise in violence among juveniles (Page par. 1). People who are in the presence of easy accessible weapons does not always tend have violent behaviors. Areas with a high crime rate tend to have more violent behaviors associated with assault weapons rather areas with low crime rates. So for the most part, time spent should be focused on areas with high crime rate such as New York, Los Angeles, and New Orleans. These areas are more prone to have problematic situations in regards to assault weapons due to the drug traffickers and gangs. According to the 1990 Youth Risk Behavior Survey, four states found that thirty five percent male and eleven percent of female students reported carrying a gun (Page par.3). That is of the people who complied and told the truth, there are a lot more people that are carrying weapons that should not be. In order for the streets of America to be safer, there needs to be laws and restrictions on this dangerous weapon.

Handguns were used most often in homicides, most cases being in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s before falling to a low in 2008 (Cooper, et al.). Most gun involvement occurs with gang related activity, which increased from 73% in 1980 to 92% in 2008 (Cooper, et al.). The percentage of homicide victims killed with a gun increased with age of the victim until age 17, where it peaked at 79% and declined thereafter (Cooper, et al.). The sharp increase in homicides from the mid-1980’s through the early 1990’s, and much of the subsequent decline, is attributable to gun violence by teens and young adults (Cooper, et al.). From 1980 to 2008, more

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.

The limitations of this study were that not everyone wanted to answer all the questions because gun violence is a very sensitive topic. Also, some of the questions brought back many sad memories for the participants. Another limitation was that I had to get permission from the high school principal and the Jersey City Board of Education in order to conduct my focus group at Henry Snyder High School (see Appendix D, for email). This was a huge setback for the study therefore, I decided to interview a few students after school across the street from Henry Snyder High School.