What the Public Thinks
Sixty-seven percent of all respondents favored a ban on assault weapons, while 28 percent would be opposed to such a ban; five percent were undecided. (CBS News / New York Times national poll, conducted from May 10 - 13, 2000)
When asked what was important - to protect the right of Americans to own guns or to control gun ownership, 38 percent of all respondents felt that the former was more important vs. 57 percent who felt the latter, to control gun ownership, was more important. Five percent didn't know or refused to answer. (Pew Research Center for the People and the Press Survey, May 2000)
Youth & Guns
Every hour in the US, someone under the age of 25 dies from a gunshot wound. (Natnl. Center for Health Statistics, Vital Statistics Report, 1999)
On an average day in America, more than 10 students are expelled for bringing guns to school. In all, nearly 4000 students were expelled in 1997-1998 for carrying a firearm onto school grounds (US Dept. of Ed., Annual Schools Act Report, School Year 1997 - '98)
In a recent survey, half of all 10th and 11th grade males said they could easily get a gun if they wanted one. (US Dept. of Ed., Annual Schools Act Report, School Year 1997 - '98)
One in three US homes with children have at least one firearm, and nearly half of them keep one or more guns in an unlocked place and without trigger locks. ("High Schools, Youths, Weapons and Violence, a National Survey", National Institute of Justice, 1998 Report)
You can see more facts and figures about gun violence at Snapshot: How Gun Violence Affects Your World.
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