Compilation of State Firearm Codes That Affect Juveniles

• NCJ Number: 172241
• Author(s): G A Holden; L D Moran; P E Lawrence; R A Kapler; P M Meacham; C J Reid; N M Rapacioli; J A Ferrante
• Date Published: 1994
• Length: 113 pages
• Grant Number(s): 95-MU-MU-0001
• Sponsoring Agency: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP); Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA)
• Sale Source: National Criminal Justice Association (NCJA); NCJRS Photocopy Services
• Publication Type: Legislation/Policy Description
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This compilation of State firearm codes that affect juveniles is the result of a 12-month comprehensive review of State firearm code provisions that may be applied to juvenile ownership, purchase, receipt, handling, carrying, and holding of firearms.

Abstract

All 50 States and the District of Columbia have prohibitions or restrictions on firearms in general and on handguns in particular that specifically extend to juveniles; 26 States have specific prohibitions and 12 States have general prohibitions on juvenile possession of firearms. At least 24 States have specific and 2 have general prohibitions on juvenile possession of handguns, and 46 have general prohibitions on possession of machine guns, sawed-off shotguns, assault weapons, silencers, and other dangerous weapons. In at least half of the States, juvenile possession of firearms is prohibited unless a parent or other adult licensed to possess firearms is present or the juvenile has a parent's written consent to possess firearms. Less than 10 percent of the States prohibit possession of firearms by a juvenile convicted as an adult, although more than one-third prohibit possession of firearms by a person addicted to drugs or alcohol. Twenty States have enacted general provisions that make illegal possession of firearms a felony, and at least four States have enacted general provisions that make illegal possession of handguns by a juvenile a felony. More than a third of the States have enacted general prohibitions that apply to juvenile possession of firearms near schools and other public facilities, and laws in at least eight States specifically prohibit juvenile possession of firearms near such facilities. Laws in at least nine States allow juveniles to be tried in criminal court for committing a crime with a firearm. An overview of 1994 legislative action and summaries of State code provisions related to juvenile possession of firearms are included.