Lateefah Simon: “I know that all of my colleagues share my concern about the increasing violence committed by and against young people in…”

“I know that all of my colleagues share my concern about the increasing violence committed by and against young people in our Nation. There are many factors contributing to youth crime and violence and, as legislators, it is essential that we consider them not only as a whole but also individually. One of the contributing factors is clearly the easy access to handguns by young people. According to "Violence by Young People: Why the Deadly Nexus?" by Prof. Alfred Blumstein of Carnegie Mellon University, the number of murders committed by juveniles involving a gun has doubled since 1985, while there has been no such shift in the number of non-gun homicides. Guns are therefore playing a disproportionate role in the juvenile murder rate. The legislation I am introducing amends the Youth Handgun Safety Act. Senator Kohl sponsored this important act, which was passed as part of the 1994 crime bill, to establish a minimum age requirement of 18 years old for the possession of a handgun. Specifically, the act makes it illegal for anyone under age 18 to possess a handgun and for anyone to knowingly transfer a handgun to a juvenile.”