child care - Digital Library Collections

THE STATE OF AMERICA'S CHILDREN YEARBOOK 1998:-__-,
reau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms' Project
LEAD, which tracks guns recovered from youths at
crime scenes in selected cities, indicate that it has
succeeded in identifying and shutting down illegal
sources of guns for children. The project has now
expanded from 17 cities to 27. The Administration
also required licensed gun dealers to post warnings
against illegally furnishing guns to children and
brokered a voluntary agreement with most major
handgun manufacturers to provide child safety
locks with all new handguns sold. These are positive
steps, but they fall far short of the comprehensive
safety regulations needed to protect children
from guns.
At the state and local levels, advocates working
for gun safety initiatives met with some success in
1997. In California more than 32 jurisdictions have
now passed gun regulations, including bans on
"junk guns." (Unfortunately, a state bill to do the
same was vetoed by the governor.) A consumer
protection effort in Massachusetts resulted in requirements
that child safety locks be provided with
every new handgun. Chicago passed a similar ordinance,
and advocates throughout Illinois won passage
of a statewide gun-tracing initiative to identify
the sources of guns recovered from crimes. In
Washington state, however, a "Safety First" ballot
initiative that would have required child safety
locks and licensing of gun owners was defeated,
largely because of a heavily funded, last-minute
campaign against it by the National Rifle
Association.
The Move Toward Stiffer Penalties
for Juveniles
Just as violence by and against young people
seems to be steadily waning, Congress is moving
forward with new punitive measures aimed
at responding to the higher violent juvenile crime
rates between 1987 and 1994. The emphasis of the
new initiatives is on punishment and prisons. One
such bill, H.R. 3, passed the House of Representatives
in 1997. A corresponding Senate measure,
S. 10, was still pending in early 1998. It would
allow states to put more children in adult jails and
prisons without critical protections from assault
and suicide, and it would reduce the confidentiality
of juveniles' records. A second House bill, H.R.
1818, that has also passed already, would largely
preserve core protections for children in jail and
provide modest prevention investments. However,
Figure 6.1
Homicides of Teens
Fewer youths were
murdered in 1996, a
relief after the sharp
increase in teen
homicides that began
in the late 1980s.
Gun deaths drove this
increase, rising 153
percent between 1985
and 1995, while all
other murders rose
only 9 percent.
40
30
20
10
Homicide deaths per 1,000 males ages 15-19
1979 1981 1983 1985 1987 1989 1991 1993 1995
Source: u.s. Deportment of Health and Human Services. Notional Center lor Health Statistics.
82 CHI L D R EN'S D E FEN S E FUN D