VI. Appendices Appendix

Appendix F: Guns

When children kill, or are killed, it is likely that a gun is used. Unfortunately, this is particularly true for Vermonters. In fact, “homicides involving firearms are most common among teenagers in Vermont.”F1

Youth homicides are increasingly gun-related, and as with the other youth violence data, this is a uniquely American trend.

Researchers believe that guns have become more easily available to children, and with this access, youth homicides have increased. “[Children] found guns easier to obtain. Not surprisingly, gun murders by children rose sharply (until recently). Data from OJJDP show that between 1985 and 1994 such killings quadrupled, from more than 500 to more than 2,000. Meanwhile, the number of murders by children without guns held steady at about 500 annually.”F2

When we compare ourselves with trends in other countries, it is evident that hand gun-related youth homicides are an American problem. “Handguns, rifles, and other firearms were used in less than one-quarter of the young male homicides in Europe and Japan. In the United Sates firearms were used in three-quarters of the homicides involving young males.”F3

There are studies with varying outcomes regarding availability as a factor of increased homicides. Deborah Prothrow-Stith, M.D. points to conflicting studies. She first states:

“Weapons possession alone does not drive up a nation’s homicide. In Switzerland, all adult males in the country remain in the military reserves until age fifty and are required by law to bear arms. As a result, nearly every Swiss household contains firearms, and most Swiss citizens, have access to guns. Still, few Swiss use handguns or other weapons to kill each other. The same is true in Israel where large portions of the population are armed members of the military and the military reserves.”F4

Then Dr. Prothrow-Stith points to a study that draws a different picture:

“ Researchers in the U.S. and Canada examined the homicide statistics for Seattle and Vancouver between 1980 and 1986. These two cities, located only 140 miles apart, are similar in size, rates of unemployment, and income. Seattle had 388 homicides during the six years, Vancouver had 204 homicides. In both cities, the number of homicides from non-handgun violence - including knife attacks was about the same. What was different was the number of handgun deaths. In Seattle, where handguns are freely available, 139 people were shot to death. In Vancouver, with restrictive handgun laws, 25 people were shot to death during the same time period.”F5

Perhaps the way to reconcile these two perspectives is by acknowledging that easy availability of guns coupled with other factors of American society and culture contribute to increased youth homicides. Gun control advocates have had successes and disappointments with addressing child access to guns:

“Two measures - the 1993 Brady Act requiring waiting periods and criminal background checks for handgun purchasers, and the 1994 Assault Weapons Ban outlawing many nonsporting automatic weapons - have moved gun regulation in a common sense direction. Unfortunately, many other national initiatives to keep children safe have not been enacted. These include bans on cheap, poorly made, nonsporting handguns popular with young people (“junk guns”); limits on the number of handgun purchases allowed in a given period (“one handgun per month”) in order to stop bulk purchasers who resell guns illegally to children; and requirements for child safety locks and other consumer protections.”F6

Appendix F: Footnotes

F1 . Kelly Hale, The Vermont Youth Risk Behavior Survey 1997, Vermont Department of Public Health, 1997 at 4 citing A Review of Deaths of Vermont Children From Birth to 18 Years in 1994, Vermont Child Fatality Review Committee, June 1996.

F2. Children’s Defense Fund, The State of America’s Children: Yearbook 1998, at 79 (1998).

F3. Deborah Prothrow-Stith, M.D., Deadly Consequences, at 14 (1991). Also, gun-related homicides for all ages show a stark reality for Americans:

Handgun Deaths (all ages) in 1985

United States 8092

Japan 46

Switzerland 31

Israel 18

Great Britain 8

Australia 5

Id. at 15.

F4. Supra note F3 at 15.

F5. Id. at 18.

F6. Supra note F2 at 79.