Do guns kill people or do people kill people? This is one of many questions brought up when we talk about gun control. Gun control is a very controversial issue in our country today. This paper will hopefully give us a better understanding about the pros and cons of private citizens owning guns.

             American children are more at risk from firearms than children in any other industrialized nation. In one year, firearms killed no children in Japan, 19 in Great Britain, 57 in Germany, 109 in France, 153 in Canada, and 5,285 in the United States. As the rate of American gun violence increased over the last fifteen years, American children paid the price. Between 1984-1994 the firearm death rate for 15-19 year olds increased 222% while non-firearm deaths dropped almost 13%. Within five years, firearms are expected to overtake motor vehicle accidents as the leading cause of death among American children.

             Over 6,000 students were expelled in 1996-97 for bringing guns to school. The American Medical Association Journal reports that between 36% and 50% of male eleventh graders believe they could easily get a gun if they wanted one. Guns do kill people, especially when carried by children. More than 800 Americans, young and old, die each year from guns shot by children under the age of 19. .

             In 1996, more than 1,300 children aged 10-19 committed suicide with firearms. Unlike suicide attempts using other methods, suicide attempts with guns are nearly always fatal. Two-thirds of all completed teenage suicides involve a firearm. Suicide is nearly 5 times more likely to occur in a household with a gun than in a household without a gun.

             There are very few laws governing children's access to guns. The Brady Law made it illegal for people under age 21 to purchase handguns from licensed dealers, although a loophole still permits 18-21-year-olds to purchase handguns from private or unlicensed individuals.