Cease Fire!

A gun takes the life of a child every two hours -- the equivalent of a classroomful every two days.
Between 1979 and 1991, nearly 50,000 children were killed by firearms -- a total equivalent to the number of American battle casualties in the Vietnam War.
There was a 79 percent increase in the number of 10 to 17 year-olds who used firearms to commit murder between 1980 and 1990. Juveniles account for an appallingly high and rapidly growing share of homicide offenders as well as victims. The number of arrests for murder and non-negligent manslaughter for adults rose 11 percent between 1982 and 1991, while the number of juvenile arrests rose 93 percent.
The crisis of children being killed by gunfire and children killing children with guns is a reflection of the violence permeating our whole society.
Gunfire has taken the lives of over 800,000 Americans in the past 25 years. An additional 520,000 Americans died violent deaths by other means during this period.
About 1.3 million Americans killed others or themselves between 1968 and 1991. That's about three times more than the number of Americans killed in battle in all of the foreign wars in the twentieth century.

Why Is this Happening?

Escalating violence against and by children and youths is no coincidence. It is the manifestation of a range of serious and too-long neglected problems: epidemic child and family poverty; increasing economic inequality; racial intolerance and hate crimes; pervasive drug and alcohol abuse; violence in our homes and popular culture; and growing numbers of out-of-wedlock and teen births.

Add to these crises aggressive marketing of and easier access to deadlier and deadlier firearms; hordes of lonely and neglected children and youths left to fend for themselves by absentee parents in all race and income groups; gangs of inner-city and minority youths relegated to the cellar of American life, without education, jobs, hope, or an economic and social stake in our society; and political leadership priorities over the 1980s that paid more attention to foreign than domestic enemies and favored the rich at the expense of the poor, and we have the social and spiritual disintegration of American society than confronts us today.

Gun Myths

Myth 1: Having a gun makes you safe.

Reality: In fact, having a gun makes you less safe and endangers your loved ones. According to a recent study, a gun in the home increases the likelihood of homicide threefold. A gun in the home is 43 times more likely to be used to commit homicide, suicide, or an accidental killing than it is to be used to kill in self-defense.

Myth 2: Most violence is racially motivated.

Reality: Actually, 83 percent of White victims are slain by White offenders and 94 percent of Black victims are slain by Black offenders.

Myth 3: Guns already are sufficiently regulated.

Reality: Guns are virtually the only unregulated consumer product in the United States. While teddy bears, toasters, and other consumer products all are subject to strict safety regulations, guns are not.

Myth 4: Most murders occur in the course of another felony.

Reality: Only 22 percent of murders are the result of activities such as rape, robbery, or arson. Almost one-third of all murders result from arguments.

Myth 5: Most gun deaths are homicides.

Reality: In 1991 more Americans died from firearm suicides (18,526) than from firearm homicides (17,746). Between 1968 and 1991, 373,118 American gun deaths were suicides.

Myth 6: Guns don't kill, people kill.

Reality: According to the FBI, "When assaults by type of weapon are examined, a gun proves to be seven times more deadly than all other weapons combined." In 1990 over 500 children and youths under 20 were killed by guns in accidental shootings.

Bring the Cease Fire! Campaign to Your Community!

CDF and the Black Community Crusade for Children have developed posters (which can be adapted as print ads or billboard-type displays) as well as television ads. To learn how to bring the campaign to your community, e-mail us at cdf@tmn.com or call CDF's Media Division at 202-628-8787.

Children's Defence Fund: The Children's Defense Fund exists to provide a strong and effective voice for all the children of America, who cannot vote, lobby, or speak out for themselves. We pay particular attention to the needs of poor, minority, and disabled children.
Facts and Figures from the CDF: What it costs to raise a child [in America], other facts & figures about American children and mothers.
The Black Community Crusade for Children (BCCC): The BCCC's mission is to ensure that no child is left behind and that every child has a Healthy Start, a Head Start, a Fair Start, a Safe Start, and a Moral Start in life, with the support of caring parents and nurturing communities.