Buffalo, NY (WBEN) As we focus on gun violence this week, we explore the issue of keeping guns away from kids.
Like most aspects of looking introspectively at the issue of gun violence, there are multiple perspectives on handling the threats of firearms in the hands of kids.
James Giles of Buffalo Peacemakers and Back to Basics Ministries cites an examples of how easy access can be. "I have 22 youth in my class, and 18 raised their hands when I asked if they can get their hands on a gun if they had to," says Giles. He says that's a dangerous sign.
Giles says it's time to change the narrative, not just locking up perpetrators, but stopping the gun trafficking.
"Police seize guns sometimes, they collect a lot during the year, even when they do the gun buy back," says Giles. He says if the flow of guns stops, it's a matter of time before the guns are off the street. "We cannot do it. We've had conversations with (prosecutors) about this. We can't stop stuff from coming in. We're trying to stop using them when they come in."
Giles says law enforcement need to start looking at patterns and develop plans to intervene and stop guns from coming into the area.
When it comes to kids and gun access, Mo Canady of the National Association of School Resource Officers says it starts at home.
"For a lot of kids, access comes from home, and what it comes down to is how well guns are secured at home," says Canady. "I won't label it a growing problem, but it has been problematic," referring to school shootings. "Some shootings happened with guns from home that have not been secured."
Canady says one of the reasons school shootings aren't happening as often is children aren't bringing guns into schools.
"They know bringing guns to schools is a no-no. They know that can spell trouble not just in the legal system, but in the world around their education," says Canady. "There are lots of penalties than can occur from the education realm, so it's not as prevalent as lots of people think. The problem is when someone has a gun, it's what they're going to do with it."
Canady says it's possible a student could bring a gun in a bookbag and not bring it out all day. He says strategies are being looked at to better search for weapons at the point of entry. "There's no way for me to say on any given day there's no gun in a school campus. I'm sure there are situations we don't know, the gun didn't come out, the student didn't show it to anyone, and it wasn't brought to anyone's attention.
