121 percent, respectively.
Guns are becoming as ubiquitous in the nation's schools as bookbags. An estimated 100,000 children carry guns to school each day. Each day 40 children are killed or injured by guns. One Congressional Representative testified in a hearing on juvenile violence: "In one city, the homicide rate among children is so high that the school superintendent has asked the school district to purchase life insurance for all students to help pay for burial costs" (U.S. Congress, 1993, p. 5). A case was recently reported where a 5-year-old brought a gun to school.
The reasons for youths carrying weapons to school varies. Some carry weapons for protection. Other youths perceive guns as status symbols. If a fight breaks out on the school grounds, the difference of opinion is likely to be settled with superior firepower instead of fists. Often, the gun that is carried to school belongs to the youth's parents. Sociologists conclude that firearms in the home endanger not only the entire family, but society as well: "A firearm in the home raises the risk of suicide five-fold, the risk of homicide three-fold, and in families with a history of domestic violence, it raises the risk of homicide twenty-fold" (U.S. Congress, 1994a, p. 17).
The widespread use of guns among teenage drug dealers is understandable given the violent nature of the drug trade. Juvenile crack cocaine dealers report earnings averaging $10,000 per week. Battles over drug turfs routinely involve juvenile bystanders murdered simply because they are caught in the crossfire.
Urban youth are at a greater risk of violence than their non-urban counterparts. In 1989, the firearm homicide rate for persons 15 to 19 years of age in metropolitan counties was five times higher than the rate in nonmetropolitan counties. Over 40 percent of urban males reported having their lives threatened compared with less than 20 percent of middle-to-upper inc...