When Andrew Block headed Virginia’s Department of Juvenile Justice, he noted that kids were more likely to have serious legal problems if they carried a gun, and in some communities that was quite common. Now a professor at UVA’s Law School, he heads a clinic that does research and advises state and local government. He, his students and staff reached out to about 60 people – many of them under the age of 25 – to find out why they felt the need for a weapon.
“You don’t want to be perceived as weak or soft, and you also want to show that you’re someone not to be messed with,” he explains.
Young people also felt fear and wanted a gun for self-protection. Acquiring one was easy, and the Internet told them what they needed to know:…