[Imc-newsroom] NRA: 4 year-olds should have guns

[Peter Miller]

>Date: Wed, 02 Jan 2002 18:12:27 -0600
>From: Kathleen Brinkmann <kbrinkma at prairienet.org>
>Subject: Guns and youth
>
>FYI
>
>December 18, 2001
>VPC Study Looks at Gunmakers Marketing Guns for Youth
>Press Release
>Contact:
>Naomi Seligman
>Violence Policy Center
>1140 19th Street, NW
>Washington, DC 20036
>Phone: (202) 822-8200 x105
>www.vpc.org
>Gunmakers Urge that Children as Young as Four Years Old Get "A .22 for
>Christmas," New VPC Report Reveals
>Washington, DC - The gun industry has unleashed a new wave of smaller,
>lighter versions of adult firearms and is marketing them as youth models
>for use by children as young as four years old, according to a 21-page
>study released today by the Violence Policy Center (VPC). The study, "A
>22 For Christmas"-How the Gun Industry Designs and Markets Firearms for
>Children and Youth, reveals how the gun industry -- working hand-in-hand
>with the National Rifle Association (NRA) and gun industry trade group the
>National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) -- is targeting children to
>ensure its fiscal and political future. As Handguns magazine stated this
>summer regarding children and guns: "they are our salvation in the fight
>for liberty and the preservation of the shooting sports."
>"The gun industry promises that a gun in a child's hand is a short-cut to
>responsibility and maturity. In fact, the only guarantee is one of
>increased risk of death and injury," states Marty Langley, VPC policy
>analyst and study author. "The firearms industry and gun lobby are
>attempting to secure their own survival by endangering that of our
>children."
>In spite of recent reports of short-term spikes in gun sales following the
>September 11 terrorist attacks, gun ownership overall has been steadily
>declining for several decades. As a spokesman for handgun manufacturer
>Glock lamented in 1996, "grandpa or dad isn't taking the kid out into the
>field to teach him how to shoot anymore."
>"A .22 for Christmas" details more than 40 youth firearms from 20
>manufacturers and reveals gun lobby efforts to entice children through the
>promotion of such activities as "practical" or "combat" shooting, where
>participants navigate a run-and-gun, self-defense course using a wide
>range of weapons and "Cowboy Action" shooting, where participants dress up
>and take part in "wild west" scenarios. It also reveals how the gun lobby
>explains that smaller, low-caliber handguns can be used to fit the small
>hands of children. And while the gun industry promises that such training
>virtually guarantees good citizenship, the exact opposite may be true.
>In 1998, 11-year-old Andrew Golden-who had been taught combat shooting by
>his father-and 13-year-old Mitchell Johnson ambushed their classmates at
>Westside Middle School in Jonesboro, Arkansas, killing four students and a
>teacher while wounding 10 others.
>The study reveals how gunmakers openly acknowledge their desire to
>cultivate an expanded youth market, even though to purchase a firearm from
>a federally licensed gun dealer the buyer must be 21 years old for a
>handgun, and 18 years old for a rifle or shotgun. Weapons can be
>purchased for children by adults, however, with limited federal age
>restrictions. In the study, the VPC recommends that federal law be
>changed so that possession restrictions match those for sales. For more
>information, please contact VPC Communications Director Naomi Seligman at
>202-822-8200 x105. "A .22 for Christmas"-How the Gun Industry Designs and
>Markets Firearms for Children and Youth is available at the VPC's web site
>www.vpc.org. The Violence Policy Center is a national non-profit
>educational organization working to stop gun death and injury in America.
>Date Released:
>December 18, 2001
>

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