Public Attitudes Toward Gun Control - Children And Guns

Many Americans express concern about juvenile crime. Peter T. Elikann and Marc Klaas point out in their book Superpredators: The Demonization of Our Children by the Law (New York: Perseus Publishing, 1999) that at the height of the youth crime wave (1983 to 1993), young people were not committing more acts of violence than they had in the past, but the acts they committed were more lethal. A 1997 report from the Department of Justice studied homicides by juveniles aged thirteen and fourteen. In 1980 there were seventy-four murders committed with guns and sixty-eight

FIGURE 8.1

with other weapons by that age group. In 1995 there were 178 gun-related homicides and sixty-seven non-gun murders. All fifty states responded with laws making it easier to prosecute juveniles in adult criminal courts. (Between 1992 and 2001 there was a 60% drop in arrests of young people for homicide, and the steepest drop in violent crimes occurred among the youngest offenders.)

Legislation that imposes mandatory confinement for all children found carrying a firearm became law in Massachusetts in 1995. In a Fox News/Opinion Dynamics poll in 1999, Americans were asked whether they would favor or oppose mandatory time in a juvenile detention facility for any juvenile who has a gun without parental supervision. Nearly three-quarters (73%) of the respondents favored mandatory sentences. In an ABC News/Washington Post poll two years later, 55% of the respondents said that juveniles convicted of violent crimes should receive the same punishment as adults.

Who Is to Blame for Youth Violence?

Harris pollsters asked members of the public for their opinions on what factors contribute to violence in society in March 2001. An overwhelming majority of Americans (86%) answered that lack of adult supervision of children contributes "a lot" to violence in society, along with easy availability of handguns (60%) and access to violent media—TV, 55%; movies, 53%; video games, 47%; and local TV news reports, 30% (Humphrey Taylor, "Large

TABLE 8.1

Trends in attitudes toward guns, 1996–2001
	1996	1997/98	1998	1999	2001	change 1996–2001
aGeneral Social Survey. Item asked in 1996, 1998, and 2000 General Social Survey. 2000 General Social Survey is under 2001 column.
*Overall change in distribution significant at 0.05-0.002.
**Overall change in distribution significant at 0.001 or less.
SOURCE: Tom W. Smith, "Table 4. Trends in Attitudes towards Guns," in 2001 National Gun Policy Survey of the National Opinion Research Center: Research Findings, National Opinion Research Center, University of Chicago, December 2001, http://www.norc.uchicago.edu/online/guns01.pdf (accessed October 9, 2004)
Support for gun-control measures
Police permit before purchasea	80.3	—	82.0	—	79.0	−1.3
Mandatory background check and 5-day waiting period	—	—	85.3	80.7	73.0	−12.3**
Mandatory registration of handguns	81.3	81.5	85.3	80.0	76.9	−4.4**
Checks on private sales of guns	77.4	—	79.5	78.6	77.5	+0.1**
Restrictions on sale of ammunition	—	77.5	76.8	73.4	—	−4.1
Keep guns from criminals, even if harder for law-abiding	78.3	70.1	75.3	69.8	76.7	−1.6**
Ban all high-capacity ammunition magazines	—	—	73.2	66.6	—	−6.6**
Handgun owners must at least be licensed and trained	69.8	64.1	69.6	65.7	62.7	−7.1*
Limit one handgun per month per buyer	66.8	—	—	—	69.1	+2.3
Mandatory registration of rifles/shotguns	66.3	62.6	72.3	61.3	—	−5.0**
Concealed carrying only for those with special needs	53.5	57.9	59.8	55.9	51.8	−1.7*
General concealed carrying laws make it less safe	55.7	47.4	53.6	45.2	43.5	12.2**
Ban possession of handguns, except police/authorized	35.2	36.1	38.5	—	—	+3.3*
Total ban on handguns	16.1	16.5	15.6	12.8	11.0	−5.1*
Support for gun-safety measures and beliefs
Require federal handgun safety standards	—	93.6	94.9	94.1	—	+0.5
Gun buyers must take gun-safety course	—	—	90.1	84.7	87.9	−2.2**
Federal handgun safety standards even if more expensive	—	85.7	89.8	86.3	—	+0.6*
Require that all new handguns be childproof	85.8	87.5	87.9	85.6	—	−0.2**
Make owners liable for injuries if gun not stored to prevent misuse by children	—	—	79.6	76.2	—	−3.4**
Guns must be stored in locked box or cabinet	—	—	73.7	74.1	—	+0.4
Guns must be stored unloaded	—	—	78.4	73.9	—	−4.5
Guns must be stored with trigger lock	—	76.8	72.8	—	—	−4.0*
Current gun owners must take gun-safety course	—	—	76.7	68.3	—	−8.4**
Require federal safety regulations for gun design	74.6	67.8	74.9	66.2	—	−8.4**
Requiring that all new handguns be personalized	68.0	71.4	69.8	63.4	—	−4.6**
Requiring that all new handguns be personalized (variant)	—	—	74.5	—	73.6	−0.9
Current gun owners who won't take gun-safety course be required to turn in their guns	—	—	55.1	49.3	—	−5.8*
Prohibiting gun purchases to criminals convicted of…
Publicly displaying a firearm in a threatening manner	95.4	—	—	—	94.7	−0.7
Domestic violence	—	89.2	90.1	90.4	—	+1.2*
Carrying a concealed weapon without a permit	85.4	82.9	84.3	82.6	83.7	−1.7
Assault and battery that does not involve a lethal weapon or serious injury	77.9	84.5	80.9	81.8	82.9	+5.0**
Driving under the influence of alcohol	63.1	70.6	68.1	66.5	68.5	+5.4**
Wait and $25 fee to pay for background checks	—	—	85.1	78.9	—	−6.2**
Illegal gun use
Double sentence if gun used during crime	—	—	82.8	78.2	—	−4.6**
Treat illegal gun possession as a serious crime	—	—	84.7	81.6	—	−3.1**
Miscellaneous beliefs and issues
Business should prohibit carrying of concealed weapons on premises	—	—	83.2	75.8	78.7	−4.5**
More likely to go if prohibited	—	—	—	67.2	66.8	−0.4
Conceal carry laws mean more handguns will be carried	—	—	35.4	21.5	29.5	−5.9**
Believes their state allows concealed carry of handguns	—	—	—	45.2	57.0	+11.8**
Manufacturers liable for gun misuse	—	—	36.9	39.9	—	+3.0**
Congress should hold hearings on gun industry	—	—	75.3	74.5	—	−0.8
Home less safe with handgun	43.4	45.4	46.4	43.2	40.4	−3.0**

Majority Continues to Favor Stricter Gun Controls," The Harris Poll, April 25, 2001, http://www.harrisinteractive.com/harris_poll/index.asp?PID=230 [accessed January 30, 2005]).

Should parents have to pay for their child's violent actions? In March 2000 ABC News conducted a poll shortly after six-year-old Kayla Rolland was shot to death by a first-grade classmate who had found a semiautomatic gun in his uncle's home. ABC asked whether parents should be charged with a crime if their child uses their gun to shoot someone. Seventy-five percent of those polled said yes.

TABLE 8.2

Attitudes toward guns by gun ownership, 1996–2001
	Personally owns a gun	Gun in household	No gun in household	No gun minus personally owns a gun	Probabilitya
aProbability levels are based on the entire distributions, not just the proportions displayed above.
SOURCE: Tom W. Smith, "Table 10. Attitudes towards Guns by Gun Ownership, in 2001 National Gun Policy Survey of the National Opinion Research Center: Research Findings, National Opinion Research Center, University of Chicago, December 2001, http://www.norc.uchicago.edu/online/guns01.pdf (accessed October 9, 2004)
Support for Gun-Control Measures
Gun buyers must take gun-safety course	78.7	88.4	91.7	13.0	.000
Police permit before purchase	62.5	77.0	85.5	23.0	.000
Checks on private sales of guns	66.6	84.2	80.1	13.5	.000
Mandatory registration of handguns	61.1	82.3	81.4	20.3	.000
Keep guns from criminals, even if harder for law-abiding	61.5	82.0	82.2	20.7	.000
Requiring that all new handguns be personalized	63.9	77.1	76.3	12.4	.001
Mandatory background check and 5-day waiting period	72.4	77.5	72.6	0.2	.001
Regular re-registering of handguns	42.0	75.5	79.7	37.7	.000
Limit one handgun per month per buyer	59.1	71.8	72.3	13.2	.000
Handgun owners must at least be licensed and trained	38.6	59.4	72.4	33.8	.000
Concealed carrying only for those with special needs	37.2	38.8	60.2	23.0	.000
Handguns for law enforcement only	33.9	50.9	54.9	21.0	.000
General concealed carrying laws make it less safe	27.3	36.1	51.3	24.0	.000
Total ban on handguns	2.8	3.6	15.8	13.0	.000
Prohibiting Gun Purchases to Criminals Convicted of…
Brandishing firearm	92.1	96.9	95.5	3.4	.624
Carrying a concealed weapon without a permit	73.5	84.4	88.1	14.6	.000
Assault and battery that does not involve a lethal weapon or serious injury	67.9	83.7	88.4	20.5	.000
Driving under the influence of alcohol	54.1	69.8	73.7	19.6	.000
Penalties and Enforcement
Illegal gun sales punished more than illegal drug sales	46.8	58.3	56.8	10.0	.098
Pass and enforce gun laws	31.9	45.7	64.6	32.7	.000
Miscellaneous Beliefs and Issues
Business should prohibit carrying of concealed weapons on premises	65.9	80.8	83.1	17.2	.000
More likely to go to places that prohibited concealed weapons	52.7	66.0	72.5	19.8	.000
Oppose people having guns in restaurants	66.1	81.9	85.4	19.3	.000
Oppose people having guns at colleges	83.8	95.1	93.5	9.7	.000
Oppose people having guns at bars	86.9	93.7	93.5	6.6	.020
Less safe if more gun carrying in community	45.2	58.6	72.5	27.3	.000
Home less safe with handgun	13.7	16.0	55.3	41.6	.000

Some Students Feel Unsafe

Between 1995 and 1999, there were declines in the percentages of students who reported feeling unsafe while they were at school and while they were going to and from school (Indicators of School Crime and Safety, 2001, U.S. Departments of Education and Justice, 2001). Students in lower grades were more fearful than older students of harm or attacks at school or while going to or from school, and students in public schools in urban communities were more fearful than students in suburban or rural schools.

Do students have reason to be fearful? The U.S. Department of Education reported that in 1999, 17% of students in grades nine through twelve reported carrying a weapon such as a gun, knife, or club "anywhere," and 7% of those students carried a weapon on school property. There were 13.3 million students enrolled in grades nine through twelve in 1999. This means that about one million students carried guns, knives, or clubs to school, and well over two million students were walking around with guns, knives, or clubs. This represents a 23% decline since 1993 (U.S. Department of Education, Indicators of School Crime and Safety, 2001).

In the 2001 Youth Violence: A Report of the Surgeon General, evidence showed that "high school students began to report that they were increasingly less likely to carry guns anywhere and specifically less likely to carry them to school." The data show that there was a drop in the number of kids who brought guns to school from 1993 to 1999.

In 1998 the Justice Policy Institute issued a report concluding that school shootings are extremely rare and not on the increase (School-House Hype: School Shootings and the Real Risks Kids Face in America, 1998). In a 2000 follow-up report, the Justice Policy Institute noted that public opinion polls continued to show that many Americans fear that their schools are likely to erupt in lethal violence whether violence is rising or falling. The perception of violence leads to legislation, and students often find themselves suspended or expelled from school

FIGURE 8.2

for relatively trivial offenses. Students were far less likely than adults to fear that a school shooting could take place in their community, according to a 2001 ABC poll.

In 2000 researchers conducted the first national survey to examine the attitudes of high school students toward gun issues (http://www.hamilton.edu/news/gunsurvey/gun_survey.htm, released August 21, 2000 [accessed September 28, 2004]). Carried out at Hamilton College in Clinton, New York, the Hamilton College Youth and Guns Poll reported that nine out of ten high school students supported handgun control and gun safety measures. The students were especially in favor of a five-day waiting period, government registration of handguns, licensing of gun owners, and background checks. In an analysis of the results, Dennis Gilbert reported that high school students "are generally more supportive of gun control than their elders."

College students show a strong preference for having the federal government do more to control handguns, according to the Sourcebook of Criminal Statistics, 1999 (U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics, 1999). There is a divergence between

TABLE 8.3

Respondents reporting whether they engaged in selected behaviors because of concern over crime, 2001
QUESTION: "NEXT, I'M GOING TO READ SOME THINGS PEOPLE DO BECAUSE OF THEIR CONCERN OVER CRIME. PLEASE TELL ME WHICH, IF ANY, OF THESE THINGS YOU, YOURSELF, DO OR HAVE DONE."
	Yes	No
Note: The data are based on telephone interviews with a randomly selected national sample of 1,011 adults, 18 years of age and older, conducted October 11-14, 2001.
SOURCE: Kathleen Maguire and Ann L. Pastore, eds., Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics, http://www.albany.edu/sourcebook/1995 (accessed October 9, 2004)
Avoid going to certain places or neighborhoods you might otherwise want to go to	43%	56%
Had special locks installed in your home	32	67
Keep a dog for protection	32	68
Had a burglar alarm installed in your home	23	76
Bought a gun for protection of yourself or your home	21	78
Carry mace or pepper spray	17	83
Taken a self-defense course	17	83
Carry a gun for defense	11	89
Carry a knife for defense	9	91

men and women on the issue, with a greater percentage of college women than men supporting handgun control.