if they carried a gun, reducing the deterrent effect of new legislation, however, a large percentage of youth believed that their parents would catch them, indicating that prevention efforts would be more effective if focused on the family. The results here illustrate that community, family, and school factors all influence gun carrying among Arizona's youth.
4
Introduction
Guns in the hands of delinquent youth has become an issue of national concern as juvenile violence increased dramatically, culminating in several high profile school shootings and other crimes of magnitudes generally not associated with juvenile offenders. In a study by the National Institute of Justice in 1998, 29 percent of males between the ages of 16 and 18 reported possessing a gun in the previous year. Of these youth, 43 percent cited aor other lethal weapons. Fewer still argue that adolescents should be permitted to carry loaded firearms or other lethal weapons at school or on city streets" (Public Health Service, 1990: 1). Since 1968 federal laws have prohibited juveniles from purchasing guns. The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 also prohibits juveniles from possessing handguns. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms noted that "the misuse of handguns is a leading contributor to juvenile violence and fatalities" (7/1998). The danger posed by guns to youth has led to Federal laws banning youth from owning handguns except in very limited instances.
Background
Over the past two decades, the public has voiced substantial concern about the growing amount of violence committed by juveniles. Arrest and victimization data show that between