NCJ Number
152778
Date Published
1993
Length
0 pages
Annotation
This video examines the consequences of the American gun culture, particularly for juveniles, and suggests how the increase in youth violence and gun accidents can be stemmed.
Abstract
The video is a documentary that includes interviews with juveniles who use guns, parents who keep loaded guns in their homes, a doctor who treats gunshot victims, police officers, juveniles in prison for handgun killings, and representatives of movements that advocate and oppose gun control. The video opens with interviews of children who are practicing the firing of a handgun on a range under the supervision of their parents. Their parents have encouraged them to learn how to use handguns for their protection and the protection of the family. The narrator for this video quotes statistics, however, which show that in homes where firearms are kept family members themselves are more likely to die from the use of the gun than are intruders; deaths occur from firearm accidents, family disputes, or suicide. An interview with a doctor who treats gunshot victims comments that no matter how well trained children are in the use of firearms, parental supervision lapses, and often children who are trained in the use of firearms like to display their knowledge to friends, often resulting in tragic accidents. The doctor favors limiting the number of guns that can be manufactured. Interviews with juveniles who live in high-crime neighborhoods reveal that guns are easily obtained and are used routinely to settle conflicts, express anger, and gain respect. Guns are an accepted means of self-protection and self-expression in inner-city neighborhoods. Police who are interviewed note that violence and gun use have become popularized in the youth culture through television programs and through peer and parental role modeling. The video concludes with a question-and-answer confrontation between a National Rifle Association representative, who opposes gun control, and a representative of an organization that advocates rational gun control.