Q
There is a lot of information out there on kids and guns but I have not found a single answer as to WHY kids bring guns to school. Many give several reasons but all fail to find out directly from the children as to WHY! Thank you.
A
Researchers at the federal government's NIMH and NIH agencies interviewed many children as to why they carry guns to school. The overwhelming response is protection. Of course there are kids bringing guns to school who want to establish a "tough guy-gangsta" image more than they want to shoot someone. Yes, kids report that this is the only way they feel they can gain respect. But over and over, kids say the main reason they bring guns to school is to protect them from real and/or potential violence.
In case anyone still thinks that school gun problems and school violence are an "urban problem," the most significant rise in school violence and school gun problems is taking place in the more well-to-do suburbs of our nation. Disaffected and abandoned youth are killing each other in alarming numbers; I think it is both a public health epidemic and a national tragedy.