Many Kids Who're Assaulted Own Guns Themselves
This probably won't come as a surprise to very many, but did you know that 25% of young people injured in assaults own guns ? According to Michelle Healy at usatoday.com, "Among young people ages 14 to 24 who received care in a hospital emergency department for assault-related injuries, 23% said they owned a firearm in the past six months." Even worse, only 17% of those who said they owned guns got them legally, says the report, in the August issue of the journal Pediatrics , published online today, Healy reports. Almost 700 young people who sought care at a major trauma center in Flint, Mich., were surveyed by the University of Michigan Injury Center for the study. About 14% were younger than age 18, and "32% had children of their own," Healy notes the shocking facts. Not surprisingly, "those with firearms were more likely to use illegal drugs, have been involved in a serious fight, and to endorse the position that 'revenge was a good thing...