Handgun Control in the United States
Handguns should be outlawed in the United States with the exception of law enforcement purposes. Two weeks before Christmas Day, 1987, 17 year-old Kendall Merriweather was shot and killed a few blocks from his high school in southeast Washington, D.C. Police arrested two teenage students who they believe killed Merriweather while trying to steal his 'boom box' radio.
A few days earlier, in Pasadena, Texas, a 14-year-old eight grader at Deepwater Junior High School whipped a snub-nosed .38 out of his jacket and held the assistant principal hostage for two hours. Police said the boy was distraught over his parents' recent separation. (Stanza 19) These were not isolated incidents. All across America, the number of kids using- and being
harmed by-guns is rising at an alarming rate. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, more than 27,000 youths between 12 and 15 were handgun victims in 1985, up from an average of 16,500 for each of the previous years (Stanza 19). …
