The Clinton Administration spun the story to claim that more gun control laws would reduce juvenile crime. In fact, kids who own legal guns committed zero gun crimes, compared to 1 percent of non-gun owning kids and 24 percent of kids with illegal guns. In fact, neither imposing gun control on adults nor arming kids are the answer to youth violence.
Guns are neither the problem nor the solution.
However, the Justice Department studies do point to a few answers. The 1994 study suggests that educating kids about responsible gun use helps prevent juvenile crime. Here, the Clinton Administration's record is lacking. In 1998, Congress and President Clinton agreed to allow federal Byrne Grant recipients to create youth gun safety programs. However, none have been created because the Clinton Justice Department has yet to develop guidelines.