Results of Polls

A recent poll completed by Louis Harris indicates deep concerns for youth and guns. The poll was done after the National Center for Health Statistics reported that in nearly 5,000 American deaths under 20 years of age firearms was the leading killer. The poll revealed that:

59 percent of students said they could get a handgun if they wanted to.

One in 10 said they had shot a gun at someone.

11 percent said they had been shot at.

One in three said they knew someone who was killed or hurt by gunfire. (Blacks youths were twice as likely to know a victim than white youths).

Boys are more likely to be the shooter or the target. Seven times as many boys as girls said they had shot at someone. Three times as many boys as girls said they had been shot at.

Asians had the greatest fear of gun violence shortening their lives (43 %), followed by Latinos (41 %), blacks (40%) and whites (30%).

In the month preceding the survey, 15 % of the schoolchildren said they had carried a handgun.

The poll was conducted for the Harvard School of Public Health with funds from the Chicago based Joyce Foundation. It is part of a project directed at transforming gun violence from a criminal issue to a public-health emergency. The data was based on a survey of 2,500 children, ages 10 through 19 years old, attending public, private and parochial schools. The margin of error given was plus or minus 3%. § 

Legislation by State 

ASSAULT WEAPONS: 

California (previously banned assault weapons) is considering a ban on large-capacity magazine clips. 
Connecticut recen t1 y became the fourth state to ban assault weapons. (California, Hawaii and New Jersey were the first three. New Jersey recently upheld its 1990 assault weapons ban.)
New York is considering a ban on semiautomatic assault weapons. 
Minnesota extended the seven-day waiting period to cover assault weapons. The extension makes gun owners liable for negligently stored firearms. 

HAND GUN LEGISLATION: 

Arkansas beat back an attempt to allow citizens to carry concealed weapons. 
Indiana blocked a pre-exemption bill that, if passed, would wipe out all local gun-control laws. 
Missouri fought off efforts to permit citizens to carry concealed weapons. 
Ohio is considering legislation for a seven-day waiting period prior to the purchase of a handgun. 
Texas narrowly defeated a bill that would allow citizens to carry concealed weapons. 
Virginia limited handgun purchases to one per month; prohibited minors from possessing a gun and banned "street sweeper" shotguns.