Nearly 40 Pct. of American Teens Know Someone Who Has Been Shot: 65 Pct. of African-American Teens; 49 Pct. of Hispanic Teens; 30 Pct. of White Teens

8/26/2003

From: Dan Kotowski, 773-290-5807 or 773-677-0274 (cell), or Mark Karlin, 312-474-1740 or 312-719-4228 (cell), both for the Uhlich Children's Advantage Network

CHICAGO, Aug. 26 -- Teens from Uhlich Children's Advantage Network, hosted the release of the 4th Annual Uhlich National Teen Gun Survey. The nationally representative sampling of teen opinion (plus or minus 3 percent margin of error) included more than 1000 respondents from around America.

At the unveiling of the survey results, Rahm Emanuel, U.S. Congressman from the 5th Congressional District in Illinois, proposed legislation that would curtail adult gun ownership rights for juveniles who commit violent crimes with guns.

The survey (http://www.ucanchicago.org/gunsurvey) was created and commissioned by Uhlich Children's Advantage Network, a multi-service agency for at-risk children and their families in Chicago, and conducted by Teenage Research Unlimited. In response to 17 questions, America's teenagers let their viewpoints be known about gun violence and school security in the United States.

Results include the following highlights:

-- Many American teens know someone who has been shot: 39 percent said "yes" to the statement, "I know someone who has been shot." 65.2 percent of black teens know someone who's been shot; compared to 49.4 percent of Hispanic teens and 30.2 percent of white teens.

-- About 1/3 of American teens believe they have easy access to handguns: 36.5 percent said "yes" to the statement, "If I really wanted to, I could get a handgun." 42.5 percent of young men responded yes to this question; 30.5 percent of young women.

-- More than 1/3 of American teens know a teenager who has threatened to kill someone: 37.2 percent responded "yes" to the statement, "I know a teenager who has threatened to kill someone."

-- An overwhelming majority of teenagers believe that there should be stronger handgun controls: 73.9 percent of the surveyed teenagers responded "yes" to the statement, "There should be tougher handgun controls."

-- Nearly all teenagers reject the idea of arming teachers and principals: 89.7 percent said "no" to the statement, "Teachers and principals should be able to bring handguns to school to protect students."

-- Half of America's teenagers believe metal detectors in schools don't make them safer: 50.4 percent of the surveyed teenagers responded "no" to the statement, "Metal detectors make schools safer."

-- In general, teens don't believe the media can cause violent behavior: 58.5 percent said "no" to the statement, "TV, movies and videos can make teens violent."

-- An overwhelming majority, 65.5 percent of American teens, believe that there are too many handguns in society. This includes 73.5 percent of young women and 57.4 percent of young men.

Conducted in January and February of 2003, the survey was developed by Uhlich. The distribution of the questionnaire and compilation of the data was done nationwide by Teenage Research Unlimited, the premier teen market research and polling firm, for Uhlich. The survey is adjusted to represent an accurate portrayal of teen opinion nationally, including breakdowns for gender, age, race and ethnicity. It was funded by the Joyce Foundation of Chicago.

"We are afraid of gun violence in our homes, streets, neighborhoods and around our schools because there are too many teens that can too easily get guns," said Nadja Jackson, one of the Uhlich teen hosts. "The guns get to young people because adults make them and sell them."

"It's a national crisis when 39 percent of teens say that they know someone who has been shot," said Tom Vanden Berk, President and Executive Director of Uhlich. "What's more, 37 percent of teens say they could easily get a handgun. That should be a wake up call to all adults in this country."

"Today any person who committed a violent crime with a gun as a juvenile can walk into a gun shop and buy a gun on their eighteenth birthday," said Congressman Rahm Emanuel. "In the coming weeks, I will introduce a bill in the U.S. House to eliminate this loophole, and pick up where the Brady Bill left off to keep guns out of the hands of people with a violent juvenile record. With close to 40 percent of all teens surveyed nationwide personally knowing someone who has been shot, it is obvious that too many guns are in the wrong hands. I applaud the Uhlich Children's Advantage Network for their leadership in sounding the alarm about teens and guns, and I am committed to working with them and others to reduce gun violence in this city and around the country."

Full survey results, broken down by gender, age, race and ethnicity can also be found at http://www.ucanchicago.org/gunsurvey.