Family Business

In a study of ninth and tenth graders in Rochester, New York, the children who were taught about guns by their families were at no greater risk of becoming involved in crime than children with no exposure to guns. But the children who were taught about guns by their peers were considerably more likely to be involved in various kinds of misbehavior, including gun crime. A study in northwest Australia yielded a similar result: Young men who were taught about guns by responsible authority figures did not commit gun crimes, even if they broke the law in other ways. Repressive gun laws are not merely ineffective. They actually foster misuse of firearms, including gun violence. — Ken B. Kirksey